Weird Science
by mabelreid
Summary: A castle in the mountains, a mad scientist, a successful experiment. Dr. Reid isn't who he thought he was and now he's missing. The team must find him before it's too late.
1. The Experiment

_A/n hey guys. I'm not sure if I have the right category for this. It was intended to be funny, kind of over the top like a parody, but it turned kind of dark and angsty. Blame the muse, I think she's nuts or on drugs. This is set after "Birthright" I don't believe there are any spoilers in this chapter_

_Disclaimer: I don't claim to own anything from CM. No Copyright infringement is intended with this posting._

_**The experiment **_

October 1981

The night sky was full of jagged yellow lightning. Thunder echoed across the valley like God was playing a game of ten pin with the angels. The stroboscopic flashes of light lit the tall pine trees around the old castle. It wasn't raining yet, but he could smell the ozone on the air. The rustle of the trees reminded him of the ocean near where he grew up. The man looked furtively over his shoulder as he approached the large wooden door. The oak door had a big brass knocker in the shape of a bat.

_Geez… what is this place, the bat cave?_

He grabbed the knocker and the cold metal sent a shiver down his arm. The bang of metal on metal was nearly loud enough to drown out the thunder echoing through the night. He took one last look at the building in front of him. Why the hell was there a medieval castle in the Rocky Mountains of northern Utah? The door creaked open on screaming hinges. It reminded him of one of those old radio programs like the Shadow, or Suspense.

A very tall and very thin man answered the door. "Ah… Mr. Smith… he's waiting for you in the lab. He said in plumy English tones. The butler, in full tuxedo stepped back to allow him into the entryway.

The walls were stone about three feet thick. The marble was grey shot through with black and white streaks. The floors were made of the same stone, and there was a mahogany table to his right about ten feet away with a vase full of black roses. The castle was dark but from what he could see it was immaculately kept.

The butler, who was named James, directed him through the entryway to the library. It was a huge room full of books. It had high ceilings that disappeared into blackness. He shook his head at the waste of paper, and shifted the small package in his hands. The man led him to one wall and pulled a book forward. It was an old leather bound copy of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. A door in the wall swung open, and the butler left him there to navigate the steps.

"Thank you James," he dismissed the butler.

The butler nodded stiffly and walked away to the library. Mr. Smith stepped onto the slick stone steps. There were cobwebs strung over the walls and the ceiling. It was also very damp and had that smell that old cellars get, musty, and dusty with the smell of mold. He sneezed. This was going to set off his allergies! His footsteps echoed off the steps as he made his way down the stairs, which were descending in a tight circle. The light was faint and wavering like torch light. He rolled his eyes. Dr. Black certainly had a flair for the dramatic. The light got brighter, and brighter, till he stepped off the last step and entered the lab.

A small, black haired man with a face shaped like a ferret was sitting on a stool writing eagerly in a notebook. He was chuckling and talking to himself in a high reedy voice that set Mr. Smith's nerves on edge. He sneezed again, and the little man looked up with dark eyes that weren't quite sane.

"Mr. Smith! I thought you went back on our agreement." He clucked his disapproval.

"Now why would you think that," Mr. Smith said, shifting the package again.

"It's been three months since you left and -"

"It was very difficult to get my hands on this." Mr. Smith interrupted the man's tirade.

"I realize that, but I expect progress reports!" Dr. Black shouted, his face going crimson with rage.

Mr. Smith placed the package on the edge of the table, and on top of a bunch of yellow and extremely old documents scattered over the surface. Dr. Black eyed it with lust and Mr. Smith pulled it just out of the other man's reach.

"Not so fast… I want my money!"

"Fine… here's your filthy lucre." Dr. Black pulled an envelope from under his notebook and tossed it to the other man with a sneer.

"I trust this makes us even." Mr. Smith said

"Yes… it does, now get out of here. I have an experiment to complete." He went back to his work, ignoring the other man, who disappeared up the spiral steps.

Dr. Black attacked the package, ripping off the plain brown paper and removing the contents to inspect them. Yes… it looked like they were all there. It was a good thing, James was skilled in taking care of his enemies, and there were many places in these mountains to hide the bodies.

He opened the first packet of chemicals and added it to his test tube. The contents began to bubble, hiss and turn purple. He added the rest of the ingredients one by one, adjusting the temperature and shaking the tube occasionally. It went red, then green, then blue and finally gold. He turned off the heat and took the serum to the large enclosed incubator that was filled with a pulsing pinkish liquid. There was a small object that looked like a human fetus slowly revolving in the artificial womb. He added the liquid and the fetus began to change. Its growth began to rapidly increase, and Dr. Black laughed and clapped his hands.

An hour later the fetus was full term and ready to leave its warm, liquid, environment. He pulled on gloves and carefully lifted the baby from the now purple liquid. It was a male. Perfect. It would be the perfect human, smart, good looking and charming. It would grow up and follow only his instructions.

He made sure the airway was clear before slapping it briskly on the backside. The baby began to wail and he yelled for his assistant and baby nurse. "Ms Galore, I need your help please."

A woman entered the lab and took the child after the doctor had removed the artificial umbilical cord. She was blond, with a figure and face of Marilyn Monroe. She was only marginally smarter than the famous actress, but she had a way with kids and she was completely loyal.

"It's alive!" He shouted. He jotted down the vital statistics of the baby and took him from Ms. Galore after she wrapped him in a blanket.

"He's alive, number seventeen is a success." He shouted in glee. The baby had been sleeping and now he awoke and screamed.

"Take him in back Ms Galore. Feed him please." He ignored the cooing coming from his assistant, and the comments she made over the baby's appearance. Who cared what the little guy looked like at this stage?

"Here…" he handed her a beaker. "Put this in his bottle. It will stop the rapid growth spurt."

She took it from him and left the lab with the baby crying in her arms. Dr. Black went back to his personal log and recorded the success of the project. Soon he would rule the world.

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Ms. Galore took the baby into a room next to the depressing lab. She had decorated the room herself, with the help of Mrs. Stanley, the housekeeper. There was a cradle at one end of the room with plain white sheets and a light blue blanket. The nurse took the baby to the opposite corner of the room and gave him a quick bath while he wailed.

"Don't cry little guy, Dr. Black and I will take good care of you." She cooed at the baby. He was so cute with lots of brown hair and matching brown eyes. His little fingers were the longest she'd ever seen, and they moved with a grace that was mesmerizing.

She dried him off with a fuzzy yellow towel, and popped him into a diaper and plain white pajamas. His face wasn't quite so red anymore, and he'd stopped crying when she wrapped him up in a yellow receiving blanket. He was looking up at her with his dark eyes and the smile faltered on her face. He looked as though he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Hey little guy it's time for your bottle."

She could swear that the baby smiled at her and a shiver ran up her back. Still it wasn't her job to question Dr. Black or what he may have created in this child. She'd been disobedient before and…

"Get number seventeen fed and put down for the night Ms Galore. You and I have work to do." Dr. Black's impatient voice rang through the room.

"Yes sir, right away," she answered automatically. She finished with the baby and put him in his cradle with a mobile of the solar system hanging over it.

"I promise I won't let him hurt you." She whispered and then kissed him on the forehead.

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October 2007

The tall thin, dark haired man ran through the streets of Washington DC. His jacket flapped out behind him like the wings of a large bird. He was breathing hard, but he didn't stop. He should have known that this would come back to haunt him. The streets were surprisingly empty for this time of night. It made finding help a real chore and it made it easier for his pursuer to see him. He crossed the street without stopping to look and was almost run down by a very large truck. The horn blatted after him and he heard an angry male voice calling after him.

"Hey stupid… watch where you're going!"

He didn't look back. He didn't have the energy to stop and wonder if they were still chasing him. His side was beginning to ache, the stitch getting worse with every step he took. He breath plumed in front of him in the cold air and -

There was a popping noise and something hit his left side. He was almost knocked into the building next to him. He looked around, screaming at the pain twisting in his left side. His pursuer had caught up to him. There was another popping sound and something hit his chest. He fell to his feet with a thud. He had to get up. He had to get to his goal and help the one he failed years ago.

When he turned painfully over to his back, he saw the flags flying over the building. He had to get up and get inside. He'd found the place he had to be. He made it to his knees and then to his feet. Footsteps came closer and another popping noise, but his chaser missed. The bullet ricocheted off the building and just as he gained the door, it opened and two men appeared with guns drawn.

He didn't hear anything else, he was too relived that he'd actually made it to his destination. His head was getting very light, and dizzy, and the pain seemed to have gone from the two wounds in his upper body.

His eyes were beginning to close when a third man grabbed him. "Who are you?" The voice demanded identifying himself as a federal agent.

"I… I'm… You have to tell him… My name is…"

He was falling to the ground, but strong arms would not let him hit the pavement. "Who are you?" The voice said again. "What's your business here?"

His head was so light; he couldn't see anything or feel anything anymore. There was something he had to do. What was it?"

"Reid…. My name is William. You have to tell Spencer Reid… Be careful… Tell Spencer… I'm sorry… I only wanted to protect him. Tell him… number 777...

William Reid's eyes closed and red blood poured onto the sidewalk in front of the J Edgar Hoover building on Pennsylvania Avenue.


	2. Drinks and Death

_A/n hello people! Thank so much for all of your kind reviews and thanks to all who added this to their favorites and story alerts. I also must thank my wonderful beta REIDFANATIC for all of her help and support with this story. _

_Disclaimer: No one gave them to me for Christmas, so I guess I'll have to continue to settle for playing in the universe. I'll try to put them back in the same condition as I found them!_

_**Drinks and Death **_

The lights in the bullpen were off except for the ones over Dr. Reid's and Emily's desks. The rest of the team was gone for the weekend and what they hoped were interruption free days off. The large room was quiet except for the slight click-clack of the keyboard in front of Reid. As always he procrastinated on paperwork till Hotch got after him to get it done.

"Hey Reid… are you going to stay here all night?" Emily asked, putting the last of her paperwork into her out basket.

"What… oh yeah… ah I guess I've done enough for one night." He turned from his computer and an elbow knocked a stack of file folders to the floor.

"Damn," He exclaimed. Emily got out of her chair and went to help him pick up scattered papers all over the floor. She knelt down and helped him sort it out.

"Thanks Emily." He said his face a little pink.

_When was he going to stop being so clumsy?_

"That's okay…" She turned and grabbed a file that had slipped across the floor, and when she turned back and started to rise, she smacked heads with Reid.

"Ouch… Damn it!" She exclaimed, seeing stars.

"Ouch…" Reid said at the same time as he was knocked on his butt, and hit his chair, sending it into his desk and knocking his coffee cup to the floor. Coffee spilled all over the floor under his desk and slopped over his hands and shoes.

"Shit!" He yelled.

"Hey Reid… its ok," Emily said, trying not to laugh.

"What is wrong with me? I can't do anything without knocking something over or dropping it." He said disgusted with himself and red in the face that this had happened in front of her.

He got to his feet and practically ran to the break room. Emily followed him, admiring the way his body moved when he didn't think he was being watched, or when he didn't care. That was his problem, he cared too much that others were watching him and judging him, especially if JJ were anywhere in the vicinity. If he would only notice her, instead of pining away after JJ, she thought morosely.

Reid grabbed a towel from the cupboard over the sink and ran it under some water. Thank God JJ hadn't been there to see that. She would have laughed and so would Morgan if he saw it. If he had to watch JJ laugh at him, he'd die! At least Emily didn't laugh and she wouldn't tell anyone else about it. She was a good friend.

"Reid… there's nothing wrong with you… ok!" Emily had entered the break room behind him, and was leaning against the counter looking very concerned.

"Yeah… sure… why am I a bull in a china shop then?" He asked her, as he passed her on his way back to his desk.

She followed him back and wished she knew what to say to him to make him feel better that wouldn't embarrass him, or give away her feelings for him. He dropped to his knees on the floor and began to mop up the coffee. She went back to the break room and got some paper towels. He was almost finished with the floor when she got back to his desk. She helped him clean up without saying anything. She just watched how his hands and arms moved, so graceful and beautiful, just like the rest of his body.

Her face was beginning to get hot again, and she fled back to the break room to throw the soiled paper towels in the waste paper basket. She took a moment to force her breathing to slow down. There was no way she was going to slip up and let him know how much she wanted to -

"Emily… you ok." He'd come up behind her and she jumped in shock.

"Geez…do you have to sneak up on people like that." She said in a louder and angrier tone than she intended.

Reid flushed pink. "I'm sorry Emily I didn't mean to startle you."

She smiled and reached out to pick a piece of lint off his sweater vest. "It's okay… I didn't mean to sound so angry. It's been a hell of a day."

He smiled and her heart began to pump a little faster. "Yeah… it pretty much sucked." He said.

"You want to go get a drink?" She asked hoping her face wasn't going red.

He moved over to rinse out the towel and then hang it on a nail next to the sink to dry. "Sure… that sounds great."

"Ok… Have you ever been to Smitty's?" She asked as they made their way back to their desks.

"Ah - no I don't get out much, despite Morgan's attempts to drag me out with him. He just can't leave me alone and it drives me crazy." Reid picked up his jacket and his messenger bag.

Emily was putting on her jacket and she heard the exasperation in his tone. Morgan was a little too pushy when it came to Reid. He couldn't understand what is was like to be an introvert and prefer to be alone instead of with a crowd. He'd never taken the Myers Briggs testing they'd all done together seriously, even though Hotch said it would help them function better as a team to understand their personality types.

"Yeah… well he thinks if you don't come out once in a while you'll get moldy or something." Reid began to laugh and she grinned at him. He was sounding happier and more relaxed, and she was very glad.

"Well… I said yes to you because I know you won't freak out if I say no." Reid said matter-of-factly as they made their way to the elevator.

"I'd never pressure you to do something you don't want to do Reid."

He smiled shyly at her and her heart went into her throat. His dark eyes were so deep a girl could get lost in them if she wanted to. Why didn't JJ want to, what was wrong with her? Emily wanted to drown in them, if only she had the courage to say something, anything that would make him notice her.

"Emily… y-you ok," He asked as the elevator dinged.

"What… oh yeah, I'm just a little tired, that's all." She made herself smile at him. They got on the elevator and headed for the parking garage.

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Smitty's was Emily's favorite place to go after a hard case. The owner Roger Jackson was a friend from Yale. He'd left the world of finance after making it big in the stock market. He was indulging in a dream by running this bar. He was a fantastic bartender. He called himself a mixologist, and Emily said he was a miracle worker. He could make any drink ever invented. They decided on beers to start, and Roger made sure the waiter gave them the best table and something great from the grill.

"Only the best for one of my best customers," He quipped.

He was very tall, much taller than Reid. He was muscular and reminded Emily of Sylvester Stallone, but Emily thought him better looking. He had dark eyes, and hair, and winning smile. It was no accident that most of his loyal customers were women. He was a bit of a flirt.

They sat next to the window and Emily watched people hurrying by outside. Everyone seemed to be in such a hurry all the time. It was pitch dark out, but the streetlights lit the sidewalk in pools of golden light, and it was possible to think that there was nothing bad in the world.

"Emily…" Reid's voice pulled her back to the room that had a mahogany bar tables with lights hidden in old fashioned brass sconces.

"Hm… oh I'm sorry Reid; I guess I was daydreaming again." She smiled at him and he grinned back after taking a sip of his beer.

"That's ok… did you know that daydreaming was once considered infantile or neurotic. It was feared that people who spent a lot of time daydreaming were in danger of entering a mental state into which reality couldn't intrude. These theories didn't pan out, but they did give day dreaming the bad name that it's still recovering from today. Actually, daydreaming can be a positive force that helps us solve problems or invent things." He finished without interruption. He seemed to realize this because he looked at Emily in surprise at her silence.

"Wow… that's the first time I got through spouting a random fact without being interrupted." He told her with some awe.

"I don't mind your spouting of random facts." She said, feeling her face get hot. His phone rang and she sat back to try and stop her racing heart.

_Saved by the bell!_

She watched him answer and heard him say Hotch's name. She hoped they weren't being called back. Then Reid went white and sick looking. He finished the conversation and closed his phone. His eyes had gone blank and dead. He got up from the booth and almost knocked a waitress over. Emily followed him out the door after dropping money on the table and apologizing to the angry waitress.

"Reid… hey Reid… Stop," She yelled, but he was moving very fast in the direction of his car.

"Spencer Reid, stop this instant." She ordered. He stopped next to his car with slumped shoulders. He didn't look at her so she walked around him, ignoring the stares they got from passing people on the street.

"Reid… what's wrong. Are we called back in?" He didn't say anything, but now his face was red and he looked very angry and unhappy at the same time.

"Spencer… what's happened? Is your mother okay," She asked on inspiration?

"Yes…" He croaked out like an old man. "My father is dead. He was shot outside the Federal building in DC about four hours ago."

She took hold of his arm. "I'm so sorry. Can I help?" She asked lamely.

"Hotch wants me to meet him at the morgue. The director himself is very curious as to why William Reid was shot right in front of FBI headquarters." He said mechanically.

"Do you want me to go with you?" She asked, mentally crossing her fingers that he would let her help him.

"Yeah… I guess so… I mean yeah… um… sorry." He looked like he'd lost twenty years and was a little kid again, one that was trying not to cry.

Well… who could blame him after what his dad did to him. Now her fondest wish of finding William Reid and giving him a piece of her mind would never happen. She went around and got into the passenger side of his old Volvo. He stood looking into space for another moment before getting into the car.

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They reached Quantico again and took the elevator down to the morgue. Hotch was waiting for them when they got off the elevator.

"Emily… what are you doing here?" He asked his face expressionless as always, but his eyes saw everything. Did he see how she felt about Reid? She had never considered that before that moment.

"I… we were at Smitty's when you called and I came back with Reid. Is it true?" She asked.

"Yes it is," He said turning to Reid. "He died just minutes after he was shot. He was trying to get to you. He kept asking for you." He told the young man who was beginning to look green.

"I don't want to know anything he had to say." Reid said in a deadly soft voice.

"I know, but the director wants to know why he was shot literally on our doorstep, and how the culprit got away." Hotch told him.

They went into the morgue and Emily took his hand. The ME pulled the sheet back from William Reid's face and Spencer only looked at him until Hotch said softly. "Is this your father Reid?"

"Yes… it's him" He said his voice shaking so badly that Emily thought he might break into a million pieces.

"Reid, I know this is terrible for you, but tell me, had you been in contact with him." Hotch asked.

"No… I haven't. I don't want to be here anymore." He took off on a run. Hotch yelled after him, but Reid ignored him and Emily calling after him. He flew through the doorway leading to the stairs. Emily tried to go after him, but Hotch stopped her.

"Leave him alone." He ordered gently.

"But I -"

"I know you care for him Emily, but he needs time to sort this out."

"How did you…" She trailed off; her face was going red under the gaze of her boss. "Is it that obvious?"

She asked. If Hotch knew, the others must know as well.

"I know because I know my team. I don't think the others know if that's what you're afraid of." He told her with a rare smile.

"It doesn't matter, he only sees JJ." She said bitterly, and then felt guilt rise up in her throat. This wasn't about her. Reid was the one that was hurting.

"Just leave him be. He'll work it out on his own. Sometimes you have to let someone go so that they realize what you mean to them." He said. She nodded and he told her to go home. They would deal with this in the morning and he needed to do damage control with the Director. She left him and went out to find a cab, or take the Metro to her apartment.

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He drove home in a blur not seeing anything but the lights on the road. His apartment was dark and lonely to go home to, but there was nothing else to do. He didn't want anyone around him anyway, not even JJ. How could all of this be true? He hadn't been sure till that night that his father was even alive, and now it seemed that he had been and he'd been looking for Reid. What had he wanted, why was he interested in the son he abandoned all those years ago?

He took his jacket off and tossed it on the couch. His ready bag went on the floor with a thump and he ignored it. His heart was thudding in his chest and he felt sick. His father was dead. He'd always wondered what he would feel if someone ever called him and told him that it was true. He never expected to feel so upset. He didn't want to feel anything at all. He wanted to shake it off as though his father were an acquaintance, someone he hadn't invested time in at all.

He went to his room and pulled an old box out of the closet and sifted through layers of paper and old mementos. At the bottom of the pile he found two letters, one from Gideon and one from his father. Gideon was still alive he supposed, but his biological father was gone. He began reading the letters again, even though they were imprinted on his cursed brain like acid on glass. The tears were falling before he noticed, and his chest hurt like someone was sitting on him. He couldn't breathe and when his phone rang he jumped and screamed.

"Hello," He said in a tear choked voice of a little boy. "Daddy is that you?" He asked.

The voice on the other end said. "I have been one acquainted with the night!"

A fog seemed to fall over his brain and he said. "I hear and obey." He listened for a long time to the voice on the other end of the phone, all of his grief forgotten while tears dried on his white face.

"Yes…" He repeated. "I will come." He closed the phone and got to his feet. They carried him in that same fog to his ready bag and out the door.

_A/n the phrase "I have been one aquainted with the night," is from one of my favorite poems by Robet Frost called "Aquainted with the night." _


	3. Where are you, Dr Reid?

_A/n hello everyone. Once again I thank all of you for your wonderful comments on this story. I'm very glad that so many of you like it. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable, only my own characters. No copyright infringement is intended by this posting._

_**Where are you, Dr. Reid! **_

Emily picked up the coffee pot in the break room without noticing it was empty. There were dark circles under her eyes to rival the ever present shadows under Reid's eyes. She lifted the pot, tipped it, and cursed her stupidity when nothing happened. This was just great. She was so far gone into worrying about Spencer; she didn't notice an empty coffee carafe. Well… she would make a fresh pot and by the time she was finished, he would be in the office and she could see for herself that he was okay.

"Hey Prentiss, you going to stand there all day with the empty coffee pot," Morgan said from behind her.

She jumped and had she been a cat she would have been hanging by her nails from the ceiling, swaying back and forth like a willow tree in the wind. She nearly dropped the coffee pot, and Morgan's smile faded when she whipped around to glare at him with narrowed and worried eyes.

"I didn't mean to scare you Emily. What's got you so wound up?" He took the pot from her and placed it on the countertop with a small clink. "You don't need any caffeine I'm thinking."

"I'm fine Morgan. Why don't you go harass Garcia?" She pushed past him, forgetting that she wanted to make coffee for Reid.

"Nope… I've already been up to her ladyship's office. Why don't you tell me what's bothering you?" He followed her through the crowded bullpen. She narrowly missed bowling over a young agent with his arms full of files.

"Stop profiling me!" She threw back at him over one shoulder.

She was inappropriately happy to see her desk was piled with new paperwork. Instead of cursing JJ's name, she silently thanked her. She would bury herself in paperwork, and maybe Morgan would get the hint and leave her alone.

"I'm not profiling you. Anyone can see you're upset and not sleeping." He moved to stand in front of her desk after she sat down. His arms were crossed, and she could see that he wasn't going to budge. Great… How was she going to explain this without revealing her crush on the beautiful Dr. Reid?

"Are you having nightmares?" Morgan persisted.

"No… it's nothing like that!"

"Whoa… why are you so testy today?"

She didn't dare look him in the eye. He was very close to Reid, and he would know instantly that her feelings for the good doctor were more than just concern for a friend.

"Everyone, I need you all in the conference room now." Hotch had just entered the room and saved her butt from discovery. She would have to thank him for it one day.

She got up from her desk without looking at Morgan and followed Hotch out of the bullpen as fast as she could. Her face was cooling, and maybe she could look Morgan in the eye by the time they got to the round table room.

JJ was the last to enter the room and she was looking at Morgan with a very perplexed expression on her face. He only inclined his head at her and she sat down next to Emily.

"So what's the case," Morgan asked. He glanced sideways at JJ and she shook her head just a bit.

"There's nothing urgent. There was an incident at the J Edgar Hoover Building last night. William Reid was shot and killed in front of the building by an unknown assailant."

"William Reid," Morgan growled. "Are you saying Reid's father just appeared on Pennsylvania Ave and was shot? What about security? How did his father and an armed gunman get that close to headquarters?"

"I don't have all the details Morgan. My main concern is Reid. He had to go identify his father last night and to see him that way…" Hotch stopped talking and seemed to draw into his mind.

_God… what if Jack had to do that for me, how could his little boy deal with that? _

"Hotch…" JJ's voice slipped through his inner thoughts, pulling him back to the business at hand.

"I don't expect Reid to be here today. Since we don't have anything pressing that needs our attention, I'd like you all to attend to your reports on the Lovett case." Hotch stood to leave, stopped and turned back to his silent team.

"I'm telling all of you to stay away from Reid. The last thing he needs is for you all to go running to cheer him up. He needs time to sort this out. Is that understood?"

He left the room followed closely by Agent Rossi. "You're a good actor Aaron. Shall we take bets on how long it takes them to leave en masse for Reid's apartment?" Dave grinned at his friend and Hotch gave him a weak smile.

"I think betting would be in poor taste."

"You're probably right." Rossi slapped him on the back and they separated to their respective offices.

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Reid stepped off the walkway from the plane and into the arrival lounge. He ignored the man in front of him asking if he needed help with a connecting flight. He knew where he was going and didn't need help from anyone. The sun was just coming up over the mountains. The sky was turning from darkest blue to white gold in the rays of the sun from the east. The light played across his face, but he didn't feel it there.

His messenger bag swung back and forth from his shoulder as passengers made their way around him in the crowded concourse. That voice that always seems to come from nowhere-the one you can't understand-called out a passengers name and some unintelligible instructions. There were crying kids and teenagers with I pod earphones stuck in there ears. There were business men in dark suits much like the kind that Hotch wore with cell phones in their ears. The noise was incredible.

The voices were clamoring around him, but no one made eye contact with the tall, lanky man that wove around them without seeing any of them. No one was too concerned at the look of utter misery on the young man's face as he made his way to the baggage claim station.

After waiting in silence for the bag he'd checked at the airport in Washington DC, he headed for the car rental desk on the main floor of the airport. The windows next to the desk opened up on the outside of the airport where Sky Caps could be seen checking baggage and cabs letting passengers off at the curb. When Reid moved to the head of the line, a large shuttle from Diamond Parking pulled to the curb, and disgorged harried looking men and women alone and with their families.

The clerk at the desk was a young blond woman that looked disturbingly like JJ or it would have disturbed him if he'd bothered to notice what she looked like. She smiled at his blank stare and a little bit of fear wormed its way into her heart. Was he a dangerous person she should report to security? Then he smiled at her and she melted. He was way too young and handsome to be a threat to anyone.

"Can I help you sir?" Her blue eyes twinkled at him, but he didn't notice.

He told her what he needed in precise tones and her helpful, customer friendly smile, she practiced in front of the mirror faltered again. She really should tell someone about him. Then he showed her his FBI credentials and she warmed back up to him. He was one of the good guys. He was probably having a bad day that's all.

"I've come from Washington DC to see a sick relative." He suddenly told her as if reading her mind.

"Oh dear… I'm so sorry you had to travel all the way here for such a visit." She took his credit card and slid it through the reader.

"Thanks… I haven't seen him in quite a long time. I'm afraid we lost touch."

Her hands were shaking a bit as he took the receipt and the street map from her. His fingers brushed hers for the briefest of moments and she felt a blush rising on her cheeks. This was her first job to help pay for school, and she'd never seen anyone pass through here with hands like his or eyes like his. She was very good with names; she decided to memorize his just in case.

"Thank you very much." The smile he gave her didn't reach his eyes, and for just a second she thought he looked utterly unhappy and trapped. Then it was gone and he disappeared into the crowd.

"Hey Miss, you want to stop drooling and help the rest of your customers." A short, fat, balding man in a grey suit grumbled at her.

"Oh… I'm sorry." She blushed again and went back to work, her thoughts not on the job, but on that good looking young man with the sad eyes.

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Morgan was the first of them to break. His friend, and little brother was in need of cheering up and he was going to go do the job despite what Hotch wanted.

"I don't know about you Emily, but I'm outta here." He said to the dark haired woman who was staring with un-seeing eyes at the file in front of her. "Hey… earth to Prentiss."

Emily dragged her eyes up from her desk and her thoughts away from wondering about Reid. "Did you say something Morgan?"

"Yeah… I said I'm getting outta here. Someone has to go check up on Reid."

"Hotch told us not to bother him."

"Oh come on Prentiss, don't you know that he meant for us to go against his orders."

Emily only looked at him. "Emily what is your problem. Reid is supposed to be your friend and here you are siding with Hotch on this." He'd gotten up from his desk and come around to stand in front of hers with arms crossed over his chest. He was looking very irritated and she dropped her eyes hoping he wouldn't see what she was thinking.

"I'm fine. I just think we should leave Spencer alone for awhile."

"Oh… so it's Spencer now is it. Is there something you two aren't sharing with the rest of us?" He sounded inappropriately delighted.

Emily couldn't stop the blush that rose to her cheeks. How could she be so stupid to think her feelings wouldn't be found out by someone? Hotch probably knew and now Morgan. She might as well take an ad out in the New York Times and tell the entire world!

"Well… well… someone's got a crush on the professor." He said in a very gleeful tone.

Emily jumped to her feet. "Shut up Morgan." A couple of agents were watching them, so she turned and headed for the stairs and the elevator.

"Emily… Wait," Morgan had run up the stairs behind her.

"Leave me alone Derek."

The elevator doors opened and Morgan got on the car with her. There were several other agents on the elevator so she ignored him till then got to the garage level. The doors slid open, and she and Morgan left the car and headed down the big garage.

"Stop following me," She had come to an abrupt stop, and he flew past her before his brain registered that she had stopped walking.

"Not till you spill everything about you and the good doctor."

"Fine… there's nothing going on okay. He only has eyes for a certain little perky blond who shall remain nameless. He doesn't know I'm alive. Are you happy now?"

She resumed her walk to her car. Her heels slapped out gunshots on the cement floor of the garage so it was easier to ignore Morgan who was trying to get her to stop.

"Morgan… Get lost. I don't want to talk. I'm going to see how Reid is doing, so back off."

"Good… I'm headed that way myself."

"Hey you guys… if you're going to see Reid let's take one car." JJ's voice came from behind them as she hurried to catch up with them.

_Great… just what I need, JJ here to participate in my humiliation. _

Emily was glaring at JJ and Morgan was trying not to laugh. JJ was oblivious to all of this. "We might as well do as the lady says." Morgan agreed with JJ and ignored the look of death Emily was shooting him.

They got into Morgan's SUV and headed out of the garage and into the October day. It was close to eleven in the morning and the sun was bright overhead. Emily ignored JJ talking to Morgan and speculating on how Reid was doing.

_You don't care about him, why are you wondering how he's doing and running to the rescue._

The thoughts were uncharitableshe knew it, but she was worried sick about Reid. The look on his face when he'd left the morgue the night before had scared the hell out of her. God she hoped he wouldn't go back to drugs or even…

"Emily, are you alright?" JJ was asking her.

"I'm fine… I was just wondering if Reid is okay."

"I'm sure he's okay. He's a strong man. He won't let this defeat him." JJ said looking at Emily's face in the mirror. Her friend had big sunglasses on so she couldn't see the other woman's eyes, but she thought Emily looked very upset, more upset than just a friend would be.

"We're here!" Morgan announced.

They got out into the cool air of the autumn day. It was the perfect day to do anything but work and wonder why the man, who left a sensitive young boy alone with his mentally ill mother, had suddenly come back and then died. It was completely surreal.

Reid's apartment was on the sixth floor of the building. They got off the elevator and went down the hall to number six oh nine. Morgan knocked on the door, and then waited and waited. Morgan knocked again but no one answered.

"Do you think he's okay?" Emily asked as fear and bile began to rise up from her stomach to her throat.

"I 'm sure he's fine." JJ answered but she and Morgan looked really worried.

"Reid… its Morgan, Emily, and JJ, you might as well open up. We're not leaving till you do."

They waited, but no one responded. Emily stopped Morgan from kicking the door in. "I don't think that's necessary yet." She hoped that were true. Her heart was pounding so hard she was getting light headed.

_Please God, don't let anything be wrong._

JJ left them standing there staring at each other while she went to get the super. Emily refused to talk to Morgan who continued to knock on the door and badger her about her "relationship," with Reid.

Emily nearly hugged JJ with relief when she came back with a pudgy red-headed man wearing jeans and a dirty tee shirt. He was staring lecherously at JJ's legs, but the blond didn't seem to realize the man was checking her out.

_Of course not… Reid drools all over her and she ignores him. _

"I don't know if I should be opening up for you folks." He told them in a very condescending tone. His face was the color of spoiled cottage cheese and he was now looking Emily up and down.

"Look buddy, my friend is in there. I believe that Agent Jareau told you we're federal agents and we have to get into this apartment. I prefer not to break down the door." Morgan towered over the man and he stepped in front of Emily and JJ, blocking the super's view of them.

"Fine… I'll open the Goddamn door!" He fumbled around with a key ring for a long time.

"You want to hurry it up." Morgan moved into the man's personal space and the man gulped.

"I'm going to call your boss and complain about harassment." He tried to sound brave, but his hands trembled. The keys shook together, and when he tried the key in the lock it stuttered around the lock for several moments. Finally the lock was open and the super made to enter the living room.

"I don't think so," Morgan pushed him out of the way. "We'll deal with this."

The man left grumbling about how rude people in law enforcement were. "God I thought he'd never leave!" Morgan grumbled as they checked the apartment. They all called for Reid, but Emily knew he was gone. He wouldn't just ignore the door if he were there.

"His ready bag and messenger bag are gone." Morgan said, coming out of the bedroom."

"Where has he gone?" Emily wondered out loud, looking around the sparsely furnished room.

Morgan got on the phone and began to call Reid's phone. He attempted to locate Reid for ten minutes, but Reid never picked up the line.

"Damn it," Morgan almost hit the wall, but JJ grabbed his hand before it connected.

"Yeah… that's a good idea Morgan, are you trying to get sent to the hospital."

"No… I just can't believe this."

"Let's not panic. We'll call Hotch and we'll find him." Emily said with more conviction in her tone than was in her heart.

"Yeah… you guys are the profilers. You can find Reid so fast it'll be like he was never gone." JJ agreed, but Emily thought she sounded strained, and she felt bad for the things she'd thought about her friend and her relationship with Spencer.

Morgan called Hotch and he told them to get back to Quantico as fast as they could. Morgan called Garcia and filled her in. No one spoke for the entire trip back to their office. Morgan was pulling into the base when his phone beeped.

"Hey gorgeous, what did you find for me?"

"_Handsome, you always assume I can do miracles." _

"Of course I do. You always come through for me baby girl!"

"_Well your faith is well founded. I found something for you!"_


	4. Arrivals

_A/n hello everyone, here is the next chapter. A big thanks to all who continue to support this story with reviews and adding it to your alerts or favorites. A big shout out to my beta REIDFANATIC who fixes all my mistakes._

_Disclaimer: Nope I don't own them, but my birthday's coming up in a couple of months so..._

_**Arrivals **_

Morgan called Hotch, and the senior agent told them to get back to Quantico as fast as they could. Morgan called Garcia and filled her in. No one spoke for the entire trip back to their office. Morgan was pulling into the base when his phone beeped.

"Hey gorgeous… What did you find for me/"

"_Handsome, you always assume I can do miracles." _

"Of course I do. You always come through for me baby girl!"

"_Well your faith is well founded. I got something for you!"_

"Talk to me sweetness," He said.

"_Don't lose it on me Derek. We're going to find my sweet boy. I need you to be strong for me, ok? Now here's what I found. I ran a check on his credit cards and he bought a ticket to Salt Lake City last night. He took flight 709, the two am flight out of Dulles. It got in at six oh five Mountain Time. I also found a car rental from Acme cars at the airport."_

He and the girls got out of the car and headed back to the elevator. "Thanks baby girl," He pushed the button for the elevator.

"_You're welcome hot stuff. You'll be the first one I call when I find out more." _

Emily and JJ wanted to know what Garcia had discovered, but Morgan wouldn't tell them till they were in the conference room with Rossi and Hotch.

"Can we track the GPS of the rental truck?" Rossi was asking when Garcia walked into the conference room.

"No… I mean the Explorer he's driving is brand new, but the GPS tracker's been tampered with." Her voice was shaking a bit, and she was looking at Derek as though she was drowning, and he was the only life preserver in view.

"I didn't think you could tamper with the tracker on the newer models." Hotch said.

"This is Reid we're talking about, if anyone can figure it out. I think he's been watching me too much." Garcia added with a shaky laugh. Morgan could see that her hands were trembling and she was playing with the crystals on her necklace.

"Why is he doing this?" JJ asked everyone one and no one. Emily wondered the same thing, but didn't trust herself to speak, her voice might shake as badly as Garcia's, and explaining that was more than she wanted to attempt.

"Let's talk about that on the plane." Hotch said, "Wheels up in twenty minutes."

He left the room with Garcia, chattering on about how she was going to find away to track Reid. She was also begging Hotch to let her go with the team to Utah.

Emily left the room last, ignoring the look she got from Morgan. It wasn't right that Reid wasn't there in his usual chair, spouting off some statistic or fact that the rest of them didn't care anything about. He should have been there getting red faced when Morgan interrupted him, and said something like "enough or we don't care," or something like that. They needed him to figure out this puzzle for them.

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JJ joined them in the seat next to Hotch. "I spoke with the field office in Salt Lake City. They're sending an agent to the airport to meet us. They haven't heard from Reid. Assistant Director Miller wants to know why he's there. I told him we didn't know. He isn't very happy."

"I'll talk to him when we get there." Hotch told her.

"I still can't track his cell phone. It's turned off." Garcia told them. "I feel so useless." Tears were filling up her eyes. Morgan took her hand and rubbed a thumb over the back of it.

"What did you find out from his credit cards?" Rossi asked her.

"What… oh yes sir? I've been tracking them; he used one at a diner off I15 in Ogden. That was about eight am. There hasn't been any activity after that." She sniffed, trying to regain control of herself, under the gaze of Rossi.

"Which direction is he traveling?" Morgan asked her.

"North," Garcia said, getting back to her lap top. Her eyes were dry and the steely determination she lived her life with was back.

"What about Las Vegas? I-15 runs from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas doesn't it?" JJ asked.

"Yeah, but why fly to Salt Lake City and then drive. Why not just fly all the way to Las Vegas. Reid may be socially awkward but he isn't stupid!" Morgan said.

"Maybe he's taking the long way. If we're assuming he went to Nevada to tell his mother about his dad, then delaying his arrival might be what he's trying to do." JJ argued.

"But why would he want to delay telling his mother that the son of a bitch that left them is dead." Morgan countered.

"Maybe his mother still loves him, and Reid knows it. How hard would it be for you to tell your mother that your father was dead even if he was a complete bastard?"

Morgan opened then closed his mouth when Hotch pinned him with a glare. "Stop it you two. The fact is that we don't know what is going through his head. We have to treat him just like any other victim. We have to work with what we know about him. Now I'm going to call Bennington Sanitarium and see if they've heard from him. If they haven't, then we know he isn't going there. Reid never goes to see his mom without telling the Sanitarium he's coming. He only visits her when she's having a good day."

"I don't blame him for that," Emily said without thinking. The other stared at her while Hotch got on the phone to Bennington. She felt her face flaming.

"I just meant that if it was my mother, I wouldn't want to see her suffer that's all." Morgan was watching her again but the others didn't think anything strange about her last remarks.

"It's a moot point anyway, he's headed north and Vegas are south-west of Salt Lake City." Garcia added.

Hotch came back to his seat and they didn't need him to say that Bennington had been surprised by his call asking him about Reid and Diana. For once his usually impassive face openly displayed the emotions he never showed.

"They haven't heard from him, have they?" Garcia asked her eyes huge with fear behind her red framed glasses. Morgan took her hand again and squeezed it.

"No," Hotch said.

"What do we do now?" JJ asked. They were all silent for a long time. No one wanted to be the first person to voice what they were all thinking.

"Well, we have to assume that we're in unknown territory. We're tracking an agent with a genius IQ and we don't know why he went to Utah. We've all underestimated him again and again so we can assume that finding him will be a nearly impossible task." Rossi observed.

"I'll say it again; we have to work with what we know about him. He's smart, sensitive, and manipulative in his own way."

"But Hotch how can you say that -" Hotch held up a hand to stop JJ.

"He is manipulative; we've all seen it before, JJ."

She fell silent, but the glare she was giving Hotch didn't leave her face, and Emily silently applauded her for standing up for Reid, even though they all knew their boss was right.

"He's also kind, and shy, and gentle. He'd never go anywhere willingly without telling you Hotch?" JJ persisted.

"I know… that's what worries me. He's acting like a family member who's received a ransom note for a kidnapped relative, and instead of calling the cops, he goes off on his own."

"Reid is smarter than that," Morgan said unnecessarily.

"We know that, but we have to figure out what is going on in his head." Hotch reminded them all.

Morgan sipped the cup of coffee JJ had given him, and then put it down in disgust. Reid's coffee addiction was legendary, and he'd give anything to have Reid there to tease about it right at that minute.

The seats of the plane were suddenly very uncomfortable for Emily and she was trying to reposition herself without squirming too much. She wanted to get up and pace, but that would just inflame the curiosity of her teammates and she'd already screwed up twice.

They bounced ideas around for the rest of the trip, but no one could come up with anything to help them find the youngest member of their family.

It was after 2 pm when they landed at Salt Lake International Airport. They were met by Agent Sarah Christensen. She was tall with dark brown hair and eyes that were as dark as Hotch's and just as intense. She wore a grey pin striped business suit, and her hair was short and styled in a bob cut. It swung around her face as she walked. Her face was square like a man's and her mouth was set in grim lines.

"Agent Hotchner," She asked as the team approached her.

"Yes, I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner. This is SSA Derek Morgan, SSA Emily Prentiss, SSA David Rossi, SA Jennifer Jareau, and out computer technician Penelope Garcia."

Agent Christensen held out a hand to Hotch and shook it. "Yes… we spoke on the phone," she nodded her head toward JJ. "First off, I don't appreciate being pulled of a priority surveillance to go after a rogue agent from the BAU."

Morgan growled low in his chest. "Excuse me ma'am but Dr. Reid isn't a rogue agent." He said through gritted teeth.

"Morgan back off," Hotch ordered, hoping he wouldn't have to restrain the other agent whose hands were curling into fists at his sides.

"But Hotch she -"

"I said back off Derek," Hotch put a hand on the younger man's shoulder and felt the thrumming energy in the skin! He half wanted to let the man have a go at the agent. She had no right to make assumptions about his agent, but he also knew that Christensen was right to think along the lines of an out of control agent.

"Agent Christensen, we have no reason to think that Reid is a rogue agent. There are extenuating circumstances as I told you on the phone."

"Yeah… well I'd love a full debriefing and so would my boss."

"I want to talk to the agent at Acme Car Rental that was on duty when Reid came through the airport." Hotch told her and she just nodded. She directed them to where they needed to go to get through security and down to the car rental desk.

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It was strange to be driving into the Rocky Mountains. It was unfamiliar territory as most places in their travels were, but it was also familiar somehow. The fog in his brain would lift and then fall. He could drive the car without problem, but every time he tried to think outside of this feeling that he had to be somewhere, it was like someone slammed a door on his thoughts.

_Have to fight it. Have to contact the team!_

_(You must come back to your real home) _

There was another voice in his head, one that commanded him to ignore the homes and the changing leaves on the trees he passed. He didn't see the orange, and red, and yellow of the fall colors rushing past the window of the car.

_(You're my success, I won't let you stay away, and you have to come back.) _

_I don't want to go back there. I want to go home to my friends and family. I have to tell my mother that…"_

In pushing those thoughts away the fog cleared just a bit. The road in front of him was black top, and it was winding up, and up into the mountains. The pine trees pressed in around the edge of the left side of the road. There was a drop off to the right that went down for hundreds of feet. He had time to be happy that he wasn't afraid of heights before the grayness pressed down again.

He'd left the last town behind about an hour ago, and soon something inside his head made him take a turn off that came up on his left onto a dirt road in bad repair. It was pot holed and there was a bit of ice and snow in patches through the trees that closed in on bothsides. The Explorer was able to cope with the terrain for two miles before the steepness of the grade forced Reid to get out and walk.

He shut the truck off and locked the doors, leaving his cell phone on the seat next to him. He didn't hear the chirping of the birds, or the scampering of the animals through the trees. The birches and pines were waving in the wind and he ignored it all as he trudged up the steep slope of the mountain. His face was scratched by the branches of the leafless trees but he didn't care. The pain was nothing compared to what was in his heart at that moment. He had to go on and return to the one person in this world that cared for him.

He knew now that none of the others ever really cared about him. They only used them for their own needs and desires. His parents used him as a bargaining chip, and when his father decided to leave; his mother used him as a poor substitute for the hole left by his father. His teachers used him as an example of what they wanted the rest of their students to be, and his classmates hated him for it. Now the BAU used him to solve their worst puzzles as though he was a dog performing tricks. He was better than all of them, smarter, more advanced than all of the poor souls in this pathetic world.

He stumbled over a branch on the path and fell, slamming a shin into the edge of a rock. The pain cleared his head of the fog and he looked around in confusion.

"What the hell is happening? Where am I?" He asked the trees around him in the late afternoon sunshine. Only the squirrel in the tree in front of him had anything to say. It chirped at him and ran away as though afraid of him. Well that was a laugh, no one had ever been afraid of him. That was the problem wasn't it?

"Why am I here," he groaned trying to get to his feet, but his leg hurt and it was bleeding a little bit through his torn cords?

He got shakily to his feet and tried to walk, but every step was pain filled, that voice in his head reestablished control over him and he knew where it was he had to go. He went right onto another, steeper path, and soon he came out in front of a castle that looked like it came from medieval Europe. What was it doing there and why had he been brought up through the mountains when there was a road to his left winding into the drive way of the castle. He tried to think for himself and the pain from his leg helped but it was too late now. A hand pulled him up onto the driveway and a voice said.

"Welcome Dr. Reid… Dr. Black has been expecting you."


	5. Remembering

_A/n hey guys, I'm so happy with the response to this. Thanks to all my reviewers and those who've added this to their favorites and story alerts. _

_Disclaimer: Nothing is owned by me except my own characters. No copyright infringement is intended._

_**Remembering.**_

Hotch approached the counter at Acme Car Rental. The others had spread out to talk to security, and other airport employees that might have seen their youngest member. The young woman behind the counter was blond with dark blue eyes. She was the same height as JJ, and she had a little girl smile. She wore a uniform of a white dress shirt with a red bow tie, and a dark blue jacket and skirt.

"May I help you?" She gave him a winning smile.

''Yes… I'm Special Agent Hotchner with the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit." He showed her his badge and she blushed prettily.

"Yes sir… Are you his boss," She asked? Her hands fidgeted with the stack of maps on the brutally organized counter.

"Am I whose boss," Hotch asked kindly?

"The FBI agent that was here when I started my shift," She was playing with the Acme sign on the counter, and avoiding Hotch's eyes, her face was changing from pink to crimson.

"Yes… his name is Dr. Spencer Reid." Hotch prompted, pushing aside the impatience that was growing inside his gut.

"Yeah… that was him. I'm good with names and faces, that's why they let me work the counter. I've only worked here for a few months." She said proudly.

"I can see their faith in you is well placed." She was stop sign red again. He'd found a female Reid, he thought, and his stomach turned over slowly at the thought of his young agent. Where was he and who was hurting him this time?

"T-thank you, is he okay sir…" She asked him, keeping her eyes on the computer screen in front of her.

"Hey, are you going to stand there chatting all day. I'm in kind of a hurry here." Hotch turned to see a man glaring at him. The man was about his height but about fifty pounds heavier. He had unruly blond hair and eyes the color of whiskey, the cheap kind. He was red-faced and smelled like he'd been at the bar before trying to get a car.

"I'm a Federal Agent. You want to back off before I arrest you for obstructing justice." Hotch said in a very calm tone.

"So that gives you the right to hold up the line." The man challenged him and a couple of women murmured their agreement.

"You'll be able to get on with your business soon enough." Hotch turned back to the counter dismissing the man.

"We can go some…"

The counter girl was interrupted by the man grabbing Hotch's shoulder. "Don't turn your back on me." He growled angrily at the senior agent. "It's bad enough having to travel with all of the extra security and endless delays. Then the FBI shows up and -"

Hotch reached up and took the man's hand and spun him around. The man's face was up against the window next to the counter, and his arm was twisted high up his back before he could blink.

"I told you to back off." Hotch told him in that same deadly calm voice.

"Hey… what's going on here?" A couple of security guards in dark blue uniforms ran up to the desk.

Hotch identified himself and explained the problem. Security took the business man away and Hotch went back to talk to the counter girl. The other customers had dispersed and disappeared. The counter girl looked very upset but this turn of events, but Hotch gave her another rare smile and she went back to fiddling with the stack of maps.

"Ma'am can I get your name," He asked her kindly?

"It's Annie, Annie Shelton."

"Annie… It's very important that we find Dr. Reid. Can you tell us what you remember about him?"

The girl blushed again and it squeezed at his heart to see it. "I remember thinking that he looked like his mother died or something. He was so sad, but he kind of scared me too."

Hotch's ears perked up. Scary wasn't a word to associate with Reid. "What do you mean?" He asked her.

She put a red painted finger up to her lips and tapped them while Hotch waited for her to get her thoughts together.

"It was like he wasn't all there. I remember that I thought I should call security because he looked like he was in some kind of trance, and they tell us to watch for people that look strange." She saw the look on Hotch's face and frowned, her blues eyes getting dark with fear. "I should have said something."

"You didn't do anything wrong." Hotch patted her on the arm. "Please tell me about the vehicle he got."

She told him everything she knew and had observed about Reid. Hotch wondered if the young man had noticed that the young woman was infatuated with him. No… he wouldn't have noticed.

"Is he going to be okay?" Annie asked him, touching his arm.

"I don't know." Hotch told her truthfully and he walked away leaving her staring after him.

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The team met up with SA Christensen and headed out to the vehicle she'd driven to the airport. They crowded into the SUV and headed out to I-80 east and into Salt Lake City.

"Garcia… Have you been able to find anything on the number I gave you?" Hotch asked?

"What number?" Morgan asked from his seat next to her. Her lap top was open on her lap and her hands were flying over the keyboard.

"Sorry… we got so busy with profiling Reid I forgot to brief you on what his father said before he died. He said that he wanted to tell Reid he was sorry and that he only did what he did to protect him. He said to remember the number 777."

Morgan snorted at hearing that William was remorseful. Rossi only looked interested by this news. "Do you know what he meant?"

"No… but Garcia's running the number now," Hotch replied.

"Yeah I'm looking for the obvious things, a computer code, a combination, or a safe deposit box or account number. There's one business between here and Ogden where Reid went, its call the 777 club. It's dance club. Also there is one safe deposit box with that number at Mountain America Credit union right here in downtown Salt Lake City. That's all I've been able to find." She concluded.

"There was a key found on William Reid, so I think it's safe to assume it may open the safety deposit box. Dave, I want you and Morgan to check out the safety deposit box." Hotch ordered.

The pulled into the parking garage at the field office on 2nd South in downtown. Agent Christensen led them to the elevators and up into a conference room in one corner of the fourth floor. The large windows to the left of the room looked out on a blue sky and bright sunny day. There were big fluffy white clouds scuttling across the sky. Emily could see the mountains and they looked so far away and lonely.

The big oak conference table didn't look right to her without Reid taking his place and finding something to add by way of a statistic, or odd fact. The others took their places and JJ smiled at her. There was worry in her eyes and Emily was glad to see it. Morgan and Rossi had separated from them in the garage and took a SUV loaned to them to go to the bank and check the safety deposit box

"I can have my agents check out the 777 club." Agent Christensen told Hotch.

"Good we need to check out both locations at once. Time is of the essence."

"Now Agent Hotch would you please tell me what is going on." Agent Christensen demanded, crossing her arms in front of her, and eyeing Hotch in a way that the team knew she wouldn't be intimidated, or lied to.

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The man that belonged to the voice clapped a hand on Reid's shoulder and pulled him along the dirt road and around the bend to a castle. Reid rubbed his eyes in shock. Yes it was a castle, there in the middle of the Rocky Mountains.

"Keep moving Dr. Reid. Dr. Black doesn't like to be kept waiting." The familiar sensation of a gun in his back made his blood go cold.

Leaves crackled under his feet and for the first time, he really realized his surroundings. The smell of rotting fallen leaves was nauseating. The man behind him pushed him forward again and he stumbled, nearly falling into the forest floor. Only sheer panic and revulsion kept him on his feet. His breath was beginning to hitch in and out of his chest.

"Step it up," The gun was digging harder into his back. His leg was burning with pain, but it was almost an after thought compared to the way his chest hurt and his breath wheezed in his lungs.

_(You're weak just like my son)_

_I'm not weak!_

The door to the castle was looming large over them, and it blocked out the blue sky and the clouds over head. Birds chirped in the forest, but the nausea continued to increase.

"I told you to move." The man said behind him when he could take another step toward the huge oak door in front of him. Then in spite of the gun in his back he fell to his knees in the leaves and wretched.

"What's the matter with you? Don't try to fool me into thinking your sick. I've dealt with federal agents before, and they're all under the ground." The hand pulled him roughly to his feet and the man laughed in pure enjoyment of his job.

Reid was dizzy, and didn't even notice when the door opened and then entered the house. Sunlight was streaming into a large picture window next to the door. His leg was throbbing, but he felt stronger now that the leaves and the smell of the grave yard that was forever imprinted on his mind had been left outside.

"Move forward Dr. Reid." The man was pressing his gun into Reid's ribs once more. He should fight this man, but his head was hurting so bad and his leg was bleeding freely again.

The feeling of all of this being familiar was getting stronger, even though he wasn't one to notice the furnishings of a room. Everything was marble, and the large entry way was big enough to drive a small car through the halls. It was so clean the floors reflected his face back to him, and the squeak of their shoes was deafening in the quiet. It reminded him of a mausoleum. He shivered hard and stumbled when the man pushed him through another door into a library.

This place was familiar, or so familiar, he'd been here before, in some other time. He even knew where he was going now. The gun left his ribs as the man stepped away from him, seeming to sense that the young agent could find his own way to the lab.

"Don't get cute. Just keep your hands where I can see them, and we'll all be happy."

The sun had lit the whole room up in golden light, but it was a cold light that couldn't help him now. There were books every where, and he knew that some of them he'd read in some other time that he couldn't remember.

_(Seventeen, why are you reading that rubbish) _

_He remembered a hand against the flesh of his cheek and other hands roughly pulling away Treasure Island from his four year old hands. He cried and the hand hit him again. _

"Move it along Dr. Reid," The man said in a bored tone.

_There was a book or something that hid the door. Which one was it!_

Right… It was the copy of Frankenstein on the third shelf at the back of the room. He pulled it down and the door opened on marble steps. He looked back at the man who'd led him here and James smiled.

"I wouldn't keep the good doctor waiting any longer; he's been looking for you for a long time. I may look like a man servant, but I assure you that I'm more then capable of taking you down." The gun was loose in his hands, but he was smiling like a cat playing with a mouse before it kills its lunch.

Reid decided that it was better to go down the stairs then face off without a gun. What a great time to be without his service weapon!

The stairs were slimy, and the torch light was familiar walking down them to the lab. How many times had he come this way as a child?

_(Get down stairs and do your schoolwork!)_

The voice in his head was abrasive, and without caring or pity. It was the voice he heard every day with Tobias, it was the voice of despair and genuine evil.

His feet stepped off the last of the slick marble steps, and into the large laboratory and remembered all of it. There were beatings and endless tests and studying. He never played or went anywhere outside of this awful castle.

"Number seventeen… I'm glad your back. You are my greatest success and you won't leave here until I say so." The man with black hair, and the face of a rodent stepped around the corner with a large gun in his hand just as Reid made to bolt up the stairs again.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you. I would hate to damage the results of my own brilliance."


	6. An explanation and a gift for Dr Reid

_A/n hello everyone and thank you for your reviews and support of this story. _

_Disclaimer: Only Dr. Black, James, and Agent Christensen, belong to me and I blame them on the muse._

_**An explanation and a gift for Dr. Reid. **_

"Number seventeen… I'm glad your back. You are my greatest success and you'll leave here when I say so." The man stepped around the corner with a large gun in his hand just as Reid made to bolt up the stairs again.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you. I would hate to damage the results of my own brilliance." 

Reid stopped dead and raised both of his hands to chest level. "Put your hands down, have you forgotten everything I tried to teach before they took you away from me."

Reid lowered his hands, but kept a sharp eye on the smaller man in front of him. He had black hair and eyes, his was about thirty pounds heavier than his small frame needed, and his face resembled a ferret with little beady eyes. His hands moved around constantly while he talked, as though he couldn't make a point without punctuating it with movement. The gun he carried was a Glock, much like the one that Reid usually wore at his hip.

"Yes… that's right. You have nothing to fear from me. I am your creator, and I love you just like God loved all his creations. I won't destroy you, but I can leave some very painful marks on you. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you don't sit down there and let me explain your purpose.

"I know what my purpose is." Reid told him.

"Do you? I don't think you really do." Dr. Black pointed the gun at a rickety old wooden chair at one end of the lab and then at Reid.

Reid sat down because he didn't have any choice. The lab was huge with the same thick marble walls he'd seen in the rest of the house. There were long wooden tables with beakers and Bunsen burners scattered over their surfaces. The equipment not in use was spotless and shiny in the wavering light of the torches placed around the room. The tables were dusty and covered with scraps of paper. Some of the papers were new and some of them were old, yellow, and crumpled. Reid tried to read some of them, but the formulae, and the drawings and diagrams were so obscure, he couldn't make much sense of them.

_Yes you can, you just don't want to admit what you see is…_

"Pay attention number seventeen," the voice of the doctor broke through his thoughtslike the crack of a whip.

"Don't call me that, my name is Dr. Spencer Reid!"

"That's not your name and you know it. It's the label you were given by the traitors." Dr. Black shouted.

His eyes glittered like little beetles, and he pulled the gun around to point it straight at Reid's head. "You will not contradict me. I know you remember what happens to bad little boys."

_Please don't lock the door. I promise I'll be better. Please don't leave me here by myself, I don't like the dark. It's too dark in here! I can't breath. Dr. Black! Dr Black, please let me out!_

"Yes… I can see that you remember. Bad boys are punished. You were born to greatness. You're supposed to be better than all of the other human scum out there. You're smarter than all of them and I'll show you the potential you were meant for." His voice broke through the memories again and left Reid shaking and sweating where he sat.

He was a little boy in this place, and he still couldn't remember how he'd left this lab and castle, or who was responsible for taking him away from this man. He couldn't remember anything about anyone else except for the butler and the housekeeper. Maybe she was still here and she could help him. The gun was still pointing at his face and the man was grinning at him.

"You were the first successful experiment in creating the perfect human. You're a genius because I made you that way; did you know that your IQ is off the charts? It can't be quantified. You were created from the best DNA the world has ever produced. You're handsome, and charming, and if you'd stayed with me we would be ruling the world now. Instead you were raised by a weak man and his insane wife. You went to work for an impotent government agency that doesn't know what it has in you. Your superiors treat you like a child and your teammates ridicule you at every chance they get.

You are better than all of the plodding, so called normal humans out there. You were destined to rule over them with me. You'll see what I mean soon enough, for now, I want to show you the rest of my creations, and then you'll understand the reason for your being here."

He motioned for Reid to get up and walk ahead of him to another part of the underground labyrinth. He recognized the doorway to the small room he'd lived in when the man had control of his life. The door to the right was also familiar, but he refused to think about that one. It was better to blank it out of his mind like the picture of an etch-n-sketch he'd once had as a child outside of this place.

The torchlight was disorienting and the walls were too close for his comfort. He was a little claustrophobic, but decided that telling the insane doctor behind him of this phobia wouldn't help him. The man had obviously neglected to edit out some undesirable traits in his experiments. Wait, why was he thinking like that, the man was crazy. There was no way you could just manipulate DNA that way. He kept up with all the medical journals, and he knew the progress made in that type of research. What this man had supposedly done in the early nineteen eighties wouldn't have been possible.

His mother and father were Diana and William Reid, and as much as he might want to wish it otherwise to free himself from the possible curse of his mother's illness, he had to face reality and get a profile on this man before the doctor did something terrible. On the other hand, he had all of these memories about his childhood and there was no way to discount them now.

The corridor went left again, and the smell of rot and mustiness was starting to get into his mind and pull out thoughts of his kidnapping and Tobias. He didn't want to go any further if he had to smell that terrible smell again. Dr. Black wouldn't let him stop, like his manservant he pushed a gun into Reid's back and forced the man on down the hall to a door and then through the door.

It was like the lab they'd left several minutes ago. He stopped dead at the sight in front of him. This couldn't be right! The walls and the floors were stone and it was empty except for a large vat in the center of the room. There were various medical sensors attached to the outside of the glass surface of the tank. The liquid inside the vat was golden, and it gurgled slowly through the interior and around the - well he didn't want to admit what his eyes were telling him was true.

"W-what is t-that," He stuttered. Dr. Black moved around to the front of him with the gun trained on his head, just as it had been since he'd entered the outer lab.

"Don't be deliberately stupid! You're the next ruler of this world, and I will not have you acting like those lesser mortals that run around with no more intelligence than ants." Dr. Black was shouting and the gun was wavering in his hand.

Reid lifted his hands again to try and head off another rant from the doctor. It was just too much to take in and now there was this thing in front of him. He had to find a way to get away from this man and fast.

"Don't you see? You are perfection. All of the others out there with their limited intelligence are nothing. Now I've made you the perfect mate. She'll be ready and fully grown for you in just a few hours. Don't you like her?"

Spencer looked at the vat again. He wanted to be sick to his stomach, but he couldn't let the doctor see his revulsion at this travesty in front of him.

"I made her just for you, just what you like. I've had my loyal minions watching you for a long time, and I know better than you do exactly what you want, number seventeen."

The man began to laugh, his voice filling up the room as Spencer looked back at the nude female body revolving slowly in the bubbling liquid. Her hair floated out from her body revealing the face that had been turned away from him a minute ago. He looked closely and his breath began to hitch in his chest. Her face was the same as…. Oh God… this was just too disgusting to be real. How could this be happening?

"Do you like her?" Dr. Black asked, giggling wildly at the look on number seventeen's face.

"You're crazy," Reid whispered, unable to take his eyes off the body in front of him, even though he should look away.

Dr Black turned closed the distance between the two of them faster than Reid could react and pistol whipped him to the floor. Reid fell to the stones with a groan and then he was still.

"I made her for you. She's what you want, you ungrateful little traitor. You will fulfill your destiny and she will help you. You will be the new Adam and Eve of this world." He began to laugh again. The door opened and his butler entered the room.

"I take it all isn't going well." He asked, looking down at the agent at the feet of his employer.

"No… it's not, he's been out in the world too long. I told you this would happen. He's an awkward, shy, and clumsy nit wit whose destiny is about to come to a screeching halt because someone was asleep at the switch eighteen years ago."

The butler only stood looking at Reid with distaste in his eyes. "Stop staring and help me get him to his room. He's not leaving here until he has accepted his destiny."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Agent Hotchner shut his phone and addressed the rest of the team. "That was Morgan and Rossi. They spoke to the bank manager, and thanks to the information you got for us Garcia, they got into the safety deposit box."

Garcia smiled a wicked smile and Hotch almost smiled back at her. They were able to get a name for the person that opened the account for the safety deposit box. The name given on the account was Valentin Proust. It was highly unlikely that a man who died in 1922 would have opened a safety deposit box two months ago.

When the guys had arrived at the bank, and talked to the manager about getting into the vault to open the box, he'd been very uncooperative. He'd gone on and on about the rights of his customers, and the need for a court order, and so on and so forth. Morgan and Rossi had tried to tell him that the name was a fake, and the man most likely to have opened the box was lying in the morgue at that very moment. The bank manager had dug in his heels, so Morgan called Garcia and she was able to dig up a nice little embezzlement scam being perpetrated by the bank manager. After that, the man had been very cooperative.

"They found a big manila envelope in the box. It was the only thing there. Morgan is reading it over now while they drive back there. We may be getting some answers very soon." Hotch was smiling and the rest of the team were looking at each other, hope jumping from one person to the next. Now they might have some information to help them. Emily hoped so because there was something that was telling her they had to hurry, or it would be too late for Reid.

When the door to the office opened up a few minutes later, Emily dropped the pencil she'd been playing with in surprise. JJ was looking at her again and she tried to ignore the women's inquiring expression, but Morgan saved her by saying he thought he knew who was responsible for William Reid's death and the disappearance of their youngest agent.

"We've got a letter here and some other documents." Morgan told them, guilt in his gut overriding the correspondence that was meant for his friend.

"The name that's mentioned in the letter is Emery Black, Dr. Emery Black. Hotch… I gotta tell you that what I've read so far is right out of a science fiction movie." Morgan tossed the envelope on the table and sat down between Hotch and JJ.

"What do you mean?" Hotch asked looking a little confused.

"I'll read it to you and you can see for yourself."

He picked up the envelope and pulled out a few pages of paper that was folded in half and opened them up to read to the group.

Dear Spencer:

It's been a very long time since we've spoken, and I hope you'll believe me when I tell you that it wasn't my fault that I had to leave you and your mother. I wanted to stay with you, but it was just too dangerous.

I know that what I'm going to tell you will be hard to believe, but I have proof of all of it right here with this letter.

I don't know how to say this, but to say it outright; you're not my biological child. You're the direct result of a madman's desire to rule the world. You're a genetic experiment that went right for this man. I was a young married professor at Harvard that he hired to be a tutor for you when you were five years old.

Your mother was a professor as well and was also hired by Dr. Black to tend to you. We were happy at first because your mother couldn't have kids, and you were so smart and cute. We realized pretty quickly that something was wrong there. We tried for months to think of a way to get you out of that place, but it was nearly impossible, until one day the doctor's assistant helped us, and I'm sure that she paid for it with her life.

I took what documentation I could of his experiments and have included it with this letter. We took you away from the mountains, and were able to get new identities for ourselves and you. We loved you so much. I hoped that we could have a new life in Las Vegas, but I didn't know that your mother's family had a history of mental illness until she had her first psychotic break. You don't remember that I know, but it's true. This happened about three years after we escaped and a year later I realized that Black's men had found us. Hiding almost in plain sight wasn't a good idea.

I decided that the best way was for us to separate. I knew that the goons would be looking for three of us, and we couldn't go on the run with your mother as sick as she was. I decided the only thing to do was make you both hate me and leave. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but it worked and you were safe. I know it was hard for you to take care of your mother and even more difficult to put her into care. You must believe me when I say that I love you and your mother very much. I never minded your intelligence, or that you weren't my own son. It didn't matter to me or your mother. I hope one day you can forgive me.

I'm dead if you're reading this, so I hope you can make sense of the documents that are with this letter and take care of Dr. Black. I know your friends in the FBI can help you. Please be happy Spencer. I hope one day you will find someone to love the way I always loved your mother. What I did was to save you not to hurt you, please believe that.

All my love,

William Reid.

Morgan dropped the last page on the table while the others looked at one another in stunned disbelief. Should they believe a man that hurt their friend so badly? Emily lost the battle with tears and wiped them away quickly, but JJ saw them and gave her another strange look. Emily knew she was going to have to explain herself, but she hoped that finding Reid would continue to distract them till she could think up a good excuse.

"Well that's the biggest pile of manure I've heard in a long time!" Morgan announced.


	7. Realizations

_A/n hey guys here's the next chapter. Thanks for sticking with this story. I appreciate all your kind comments. _

_Disclaimer: Nothing recognizable is mine. I own only my own characters._

_**Realizations**_

Morgan pushed the letter away with an impatient shove, "Don't tell me you believe all of that crap. Reid doesn't need this now. His father was a complete bastard and he wants sympathy from the grave."

"It doesn't matter at this point!" Hotch said gesturing to the pile of documents. He picked them up and began to go through them. "If we can use any of this to help us find Reid, then I have to thank William Reid."

"Come on Hotch you don't really think -"

"Morgan… Stop it," Hotch ordered the agent. "If you can't get your objectivity back, I'll send you home."

Their eyes and wills clashed silently for a long minute, then Morgan lowered his eyes and slumped in his chair.

"I know you're all very concerned about Reid especially after what happened in Georgia, but he's strong, he'll get through whatever it is that he's dealing with now." Hotch looked them all in the eye in turn.

"Um… boss man, I don't mean to interrupt, but I found something about Dr. Emery Black." Garcia interjected.

Hotch nodded in her direction and she cleared her throat before continuing. "He was born in Grand Rapids Michigan on April seventh nineteen forty nine. He's another prodigy like Reid. He went to college at Harvard and graduate school at Columbia. He earned his medical degree in nineteen sixty-seven and his first PhD in psychology in nineteen sixty-nine. His second PhD in genetics was earned at UCLA medical school in nineteen seventy-two. He was thrown out of mainstream research and development in nineteen seventy-seven because he was experimenting on humans without the ok of the FDA, or the University. He dropped out of sight completely after his grandfather died in nineteen seventy-nine, and he inherited a lot of money."

"Was there anything strange about the death of his grandfather?" Hotch asked the analyst.

"No… it was ruled natural causes."

"Okay… so he's been off the grid for nearly thirty years. We have Reid's father making the accusation that this man was experimenting with human DNA, and that Reid is the triumphant result of that. What is this Frankenstein? Should we call the natives and storm the castle with torches, pick-axes and baseball bats." Morgan said derisively.

"Morgan," Hotch snapped at him.

"No… I refuse to believe any of this," Morgan was up and pacing. He slammed a flat hand against the far wall. "I know what you're all thinking. You think Reid was kidnapped by this maniac. Why… after all this time would he come after Reid? Why not take him back as a child."

"I don't know Morgan, why don't you tell us from what you know about the man." Hotch said with a deadly calm voice.

Morgan opened his mouth, and then saw how the rest of the team was looking at him and closed it with a snap. He heaved in a huge breath and looked at Garcia, who winked at him and grinned.

"He's a sadist with a God complex. If we assume that all of this is true, then he's a very dangerous man. Who knows how many more of these so called super humans he's created? He wants Reid back for a reason that probably includes some form of forced world domination. He thinks that only Reid can make that happen for him. Reid is his first success and someone took that away from him. He's trying to re-establish control."

"I think Morgan's right." Rossi said. "We need to go through these documents and try to find out what this man wants from Reid."

"Let's get on it." Hotch ordered.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily dropped the papers she was holding without really seeing what they contained and excused herself from the conference room.

"I need coffee." was all she said when Hotch raised an eyebrow in her direction

She fled the room and headed down the hallway to a large break room on the left hand side. Agent Christensen had shown them around, and very begrudgingly told them to make themselves at home. Emily wanted to laugh at her, she reminded Emily of Erin Strauss, only Strauss was the more attractive of the two.

The coffee pot was half full and smelled very good. Her head was still whirling around trying to make sense of the letter from Reid's father. God… how could anyone do that to his own family even if he thought it was in their best interest.

Where was the coffee creamer? The refrigerator was full of plastic containers with questionable contents, and brown paper bags with names written on them. There was a sign on the outside of the door that warned everyone the fridge would be cleaned out every Friday at six, and to collect anything they didn't want thrown out. Well… that was a demanding little missive. There wasn't any cream anywhere, but there was a carton of milk that wasn't labeled and wasn't past the expiration date. She grabbed it and dumped some in her coffee.

There was an ugly cream colored hard plastic chair next to an equally ugly plastic table, she made a beeline for them, and used a spoon found in a drawer that looked clean, to stir her coffee.

The paper cup was hot in her hand, but it didn't matter somehow. Who knew what was happening to Reid at that very moment. Why did he leave the DC area? What had happened to make him leave without telling the rest of the team? She'd been over and over the paperwork they'd divided up from the safety deposit box. They needed help in figuring this out. They needed Reid! She needed Reid. She needed him to be sitting across from her with his forehead furrowed in concentration, trying to figure out the latest obscure puzzle that a un-sub had come up with to play with them.

She took a sip of the coffee and grimaced it was still too hot and it tasted terrible. Only Reid liked FBI coffee. Stop thinking about him! She told herself very sternly. This isn't about you, it's about him. He's in trouble and you all better learn to function without him.

She was absently stirring the coffee again and trying not to cry when Garcia came into the room. "I thought I would try some of the sludge they call coffee." She said to Emily, who didn't respond.

"Hey… what's going on with you today?" She asked her friend while pouring out a cup and adding milk and sugar to the paper cup.

"Come on Emily, this is me you're dealing with" Garcia informed her while sitting in the only other available chair in the room. "God… could these things be any more uncomfortable."

"What…" Emily said looking up from the coffee she was stirring and not drinking.

"Are you going to tell me what's got you so upset, or do I have to guess?"

"I'm just worried about Reid, that's all. After what happened in Georgia, he doesn't need another blow like this." Emily said still staring at the cup in her hands.

"Are you sure that's all that's bothering you?" Garcia pressed laying a hand on Emily's arm.

"Yes, that's all." Emily answered.

"Right… see you guys think that because I'm not a profiler or that I don't go into the field that often, that I'm blind."

"No… that's not it at all."

"Yes it is, but I don't blame you. Sometimes it takes an objective observer to point out what someone else can't see."

"Garcia… I wish you'd be clear." Emily took a sip of the tepid coffee and decided she didn't need any more caffeine.

"You're in love with Reid," she said with a self-satisfied smile.

"That's not true I -"

"I told you that I know and see all. For your information, you're not good at hiding it and now that the good doctor is missing you aren't dealing with it. You better pull it together before Hotch notices."

"He already knows, I think." Emily said with resignation.

"Well… that's something, at least you're not transferred out of here and he let you stay on the case."

"I just don't know what to do. I know that this isn't about me, but I've never had these kinds of feelings for a teammate before, so I'm a little confused. "

Garcia put her cup down and grabbed both of Emily's hands. "You don't have to do anything, but use that profiler brain of yours to figure this out. You're a very smart woman; just ask yourself what Reid would do!"

Emily looked at Garcia like she's gone crazy, then something occurred to her. It was something she'd seen in the paperwork from the safety deposit box, but she'd disregarded it as unimportant.

"You're right Garcia, let's get back to work. I have an idea."

Garcia stood up next to Emily and patted her on the cheek, "See now that was just eerie, you even sound like him."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When his eyes opened again, pain was cleaving his skull from the top of his head to just behind his eyes. He was extremely happy to see golden light filling the room from a source to his left. Waking up to darkness would have been more than he could handle.

Bringing his body to a sitting position was a big mistake as dizziness made his eyesight blur. It was like trying to see underwater.

_Like that travesty of human life in the other room! Can she see in the vat, or artificial womb, or whatever that thing was?_

Just the thought of her-of someone who looked like her-in that place brought nausea back to his raw stomach.

So much for waking up and realizing it was all a very weird dream. He wished it was that he could just turn over and go back to sleep. Then in the morning it would be just one more nightmare to add to his growing stack of bad dreams to be filed away under, "pay the price for your job," heading.

Since that wasn't going to happen, and screaming for help would be useless, he decided that taking a good look around might be helpful.

He'd been holding his aching head in his hands during this short but painful realization that he was trapped. He blinked his eyes and took a good look around. He found it was necessary to blink again and to pinch his arm.

"Ouch…" Okay, so pinching wasn't the best idea, but as the room didn't dissolve into black walls with yellow stripes, he could safely say he wasn't abroad the Starship Enterprise D, trapped in a holodeck fantasy!

"You gotta admit that would be pretty cool Spencer." He said to the wall and to himself.

"Yeah… that's a great way to not deal with reality smart guy, and I'm talking to myself!"

His brain reminded him that he could do that now. He wasn't the biological child of Diana Reid; he didn't have to be afraid of Schizophrenia anymore. That thought knocked him back on the full sized bed he'd been sitting on, the one that was exactly like the one in his bedroom at home. It had the same dark blue comforter he had on his own bed. The sheets were the same light blue with a dark blue stripe at the top.

Except for the dimensions of the room which were a bit smaller, and the fact that the walls were stone and there were no windows, it was identical to his room in his own apartment. A shiver ran over his spine. How could they know what was in his bookcases at home? He got up and walked slowly over to the bookcase that stood in the exact same spot to the left of his bed. He ran a shaking finger over the titles of the books and they were all the same, down to the latest Dean Koontz thriller he'd just bought three days ago.

He swung around and saw the computer desk to the right of the door. It had all the same computer manuals and a laptop just like his that didn't function when he sat down in front of it and tried to turn it on. Crazily he thought of Garcia and wished she were here to fix it. The chair in front of it was a leather office chair, identical to the one he owned. It was like being home, but it was so cold somehow. Was this what others would see if they saw his bedroom? That was it; he was going to throw everything out when he got home and start over.

The door opened behind him and when he turned around, James was there with a tray of food in one hand and a gun in the other. "I trust you're comfortable Dr. Reid."

"You don't call me number seventeen, why is that?" Reid asked. James only smiled. "You can stop profiling me; you won't get the best of me. Now eat something, Dr. Black's coming to see you in about half an hour and you better be ready to co-operate."

He left the protesting Dr. Reid to the food he refused to touch. He figured it wasn't poisoned or drugged, the doctor didn't want to hurt his creation, but the thought of eating made him sick.

The door opened after the thirty minute mark had elapsed. Reid was finishing a game of Black Belt Sudoku in his head that he'd memorized the day before. It was a pity that it was too easy for him!

"Are you ready to learn your true destiny number seventeen?" Dr Black asked, gesturing with his gun to the door.

"I won't do what you want." Reid said firmly.

"Oh I think you will. Why don't I show you what my men have been up to?" He threw something down on the table and Reid picked it up. It was a photograph of his team arriving at the airport. There were two close ups in particular that made it obvious the photographer had been close enough to hurt, or kill the subject in question.

"I'll kill you …" Reid snarled.

"No you won't. I got that close once I can do it again. Now I have something for you that will begin your path to your true destiny."


	8. The Gift

_A/n hello everyone! Here's the next chapter. Once again, my thanks to all my loyal readers and everyone that's reviewed. You guys are great! _

_Disclaimer: CBS owns it all, nothing is mine but my original characters._

_**The gift**_

Garcia hurried after Emily to the conference room. She was trying desperately not to laugh at the way other agents got out of Emily's way. It was like Moses parting the Red Sea! Of course Penelope didn't really blame them. The look in Emily's eyes would terrify Satan himself. They rocketed into the conference room, and the others looked up in surprise at the abrupt entry of the profiler and the computer analyst.

"I think I know what's happening here. There's something I remember reading…" She sat down and began rifling through the scattered papers on the table.

The others were gaping at her. Garcia was trying to look innocent and interested in her computer. Finally Morgan spoke up.

"Ok… Who are you and why are you channeling Reid?"

The look Emily hit Morgan with, would have cracked marble, but he only grinned back at her and winked.

"I read something in this journal about Emery Black and his obsession with magic and hypnotism." She said as if Morgan hadn't spoken, but her face was as red as a ripe apple.

"Yeah… I saw that too, what are you thinking?" Rossi asked her.

"Ok… If we have to accept the idea that Reid is the result of an experiment in genetics, then maybe Dr. Black was brain-washing him too."

"Come on Prentiss, are you trying to say that Reid is some kind of Manchurian Candidate sleeper assassin." Morgan scoffed

"No… I'm saying that it is possible to implant post-hypnotic suggestions into someone during hypnotherapy. They do it all the time with weight loss and smoking cessation. There are even those that say our advertising is riddled with subliminal messages." She retorted.

"So we're saying that right after Reid gets the news that his father is dead, someone said something to him, or called him on the phone and now he's here somewhere, making contact with a mad scientist?" JJ asked with a skeptical tone, but Emily thought JJ's eyes told a different story.

"I don't know, but Reid wouldn't just leave without telling us even if he was totally torn up about his dad."

"Prentiss's right. You told me there was no sign of foul play, or a struggle at his apartment." Hotch reminded them.

"So what do we do?" Morgan interrupted. "How do we find him? What if we do and this Dr. Black has him programmed to resist us." He couldn't bring himself to use the words "kill us."

"When we find him, we'll have backup from the field office here and from SWAT." Hotch told them. His dark eyes gave just a glimpse of the painful realization of how this could end. It could go very badly. Was it possible for Reid to cheat fate, or death again as he had with Tobias Hankel?

"Ah guys… Can you stop plotting for a minute?" Garcia interjected into the silence that had followed Hotch's last statement.

They all turned to look at her. She could see in Morgan's eyes what he thought no one else could see the aching concern for a friend and little brother.

"I found something regarding the inheritance Dr. Black got all those years ago. As I told you, he's been off the grid for a long time, but there are bank accounts and trusts set up in the name of Adolph Schroeder his maternal grandfather. He's not going to need money if he's dead, so it stands to reason that Dr. Emery Black is using his grandfather's name to live." Garcia said, excitement beginning to light up her face.

"Tell me that you have an address for "Mr. Schroeder," Hotch asked, rising from his chair at the table, followed by Rossi.

"Yes… there's an old castle in Ogden Canyon." She said.

Hotch returned to his chair. "Excuse me, but did you just say castle?"

Rossi was still standing, but he looked like he didn't believe her, like she'd gotten it wrong. Morgan knew his goddess wasn't perfect, but this had to be some kind of a joke.

"Why are you all looking at me like I've grown another head," She asked sounding very offended. "I can't help it if Frankenstein really does live in a castle."

"Garcia, we don't doubt you, it's just that there has to be some kind of mistake in your information." JJ said and winced at the withering look Garcia tossed her way.

"If you're all going to insult me then…"

"No baby girl. We're not trying to insult you." Morgan said. Garcia smiled widely at him and returned to her beloved computer.

"Now if you'll all just calm down and listen, I can explain." She ordered the rest of them in a growling tone.

Hotch smiled, and Emily just looked at her expectantly, adrenaline beginning to fill up her veins and make her heart race. They were getting so close. She could feel it in her bones.

"Now, as you know, Schroeder is a common German last name. Dr. Black's grandfather was from an old noble German family, and somehow managed to hold onto his land and money through the Second World War. There is some speculation that he was a friend to Hitler, but there was never any proof. He moved to the states in nineteen forty six after the war. He had the family castle brought here stone by stone, and rebuilt."

For the second time in thirty minutes the whole team was speechless and looking at each other. Garcia was inordinately pleased with her work, and sat grinning at the whole team. Morgan broke the silence that was like a blanket over the rest of them.

"Baby girl, how do you find this stuff?"

"Can't tell you that gorgeous, hacker secret," She said sweetly and Rossi chuckled.

"Now… I've got exact coordinates for you so you can go knock down the door. There are two ways into the castle. Both of the entrances can be accessed from SR-39. There's an old logging road that accesses the back way in, but you can't drive it all the way to the castle. You have to walk in about half a mile. The other entrance is more straight-forward, but they'll see you coming."

"We'll deal with that when we get there." Hotch said getting up from the table again. The rest of the team followed.

Hotch went to find Christensen to get her help with the raid. JJ was on the phone to the police in Ogden setting up to meet them when the FBI arrived. Emily was pacing, and Morgan was trying to get another rise out of her, but she ignored him.

"Ok… let's get into protective gear." Hotch ordered, and then team disbursed to put on vests and check that their weapons were ready for the raid.

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"I'll kill you …" Reid snarled.

"No you won't. I got that close once I can do it again. Now I have something for you that will begin your path to your true destiny.

"You're a sadist with a God complex, and I have no interest in anything you have to say. Let me go now and maybe my team won't kill you when they come."

Dr. Black's face went red with anger and then he began to shake with laughter. "Your team isn't coming after you. They don't care about you seventeen. You're just a convenient puzzle solver that they keep around to solve their stupid little crimes. If they didn't have you, they wouldn't be able to catch their serial killers and their rapists and they know it. You're doing menial labor that was meant for lesser minds. You are the perfection of evolution. I made you!"

He'd stepped into the room, and was speaking calmly to Spencer as though they were best friends having a discussion over drinks.

"You may have "made" me, but you don't control what I do. My team will come looking for me. I don't want to stay here." Reid insisted, backing away from the man.

"I can give you complete power over all those who'd belittle you, and make you feel like you're nothing. They treated you like you were worse than a bug in school, am I right."

"I'm over that, it doesn't matter." Reid told him, but his voice shook slightly.

"No… I don't think that's true. It still bothers you. I know something else as well." Dr. Black shut the door, and sat down on the chair in front of the computer desk and crossed his arms. "I saw what happened to you at the hands of that maniac in Georgia. It was all over the internet. He was a sick bastard and if you hadn't killed him I would have sent James after him. I'll never hurt you like that seventeen. The creator doesn't hurt his creation."

The smaller man stood up again and went to the door, never taking his eyes off Dr. Reid. "I have a gift for you." He opened the door and a woman walked into the room.

"What are you doing here?" Reid said taking about three steps toward her, Dr. Black began to giggle. Reid's heart leapt into his throat at seeing her here. How did this man get a hold of her?

"I told you I could create the perfect mate for you. She is identical to the original in personal appearance, but she is so much smarter than you're so called friend. I told you I know all, and see all, when it comes to you, and I can tell she is the one you want. The rest of your team is stupid and blind, they don't see the one you want.

Reid backed away from her again till his knees hit the bed and he sat down hard. "S-she isn't the same thing, she's a t-travesty and I d-don't want anything to do w-with her." He stuttered.

"Oh stop with the stuttering, I know it's just an affectation you use to put others of guard. It won't work on me. Now, I'll just leave you two alone to get acquainted."

Reid pushed away from the woman in front of him. "I d-don't want to get to know h-her, she's a fantasy, she's not the real thing."

Dr. Black ignored him and left, shutting the door behind him. There was the clank of a key turning in the lock and Reid was alone with her.

"Hello Spencer," she said walking toward him.

"S-stay away from m-me, I don't want you touching me. You're a fake!" He yelled at her.

Her face took on a pout that would have looked ridiculous on the real thing, but on this fake it looked ghastly. "Come on baby. Dr. Black made me just for you. I know everything you like." She slid onto the bed next to him, and he got up and moved into one corner of the room.

"I t-told y-you to stay away from me," He warned, holding out one hand. Insanely he wanted a cross like Dr. Van Helsing.

"Baby… Don't be upset. He told me about the other one with my face, she isn't here, but I am." She was standing right in front of him and she was the same, the hair, the eyes, the same height and weight. It had to be a dream. None of this could be real. How did he get a staring role in the "Bride of Frankenstein?"

The double reached out a hand, and ran it up and down his chest, "I t-told you n-not to touch me," He pushed her hand away."

"Relax… and just go with it" She place her hands on his shoulder and ground her hips into his.

"Please don't do that," He pushed her away again and she nearly fell to the floor.

He was moving out of the corner when she pushed him down on the bed. He nearly fell off the edge, but she was much stronger than she looked. He was on his back and she straddled him. He tried to push her away, but she kissed him hard and in spite of the situation, his body was beginning to respond to her. Was Dr. Black right? Was this the only way for him to have the one he truly wanted? This creation was soft and she kissed him like no one else ever had. She wanted him! No one had ever wanted him like this! He pushed her at again in feeble protest, but she held on to him like a boa constrictor held their prey.

"Please get off me." He pleaded with her again, but it was a token protest and she seemed to know this, it was in her eyes. She smiled that same terrible smile and her eyes glittered.

"Just relax Spencer. We're the same, you and I. I can make you happy. She's never looked at you the way you want?"

Her hands slid along the side of his body and down to the top of his corduroys, her fingers pulled the shirt he wore out of his pants, and her hands pushed under it to his bare skin.

He trembled and tried to remember she was an empty shell that looked like the real thing, but his body refused to cooperate with his brain. She kissed him again, forcing her tongue into his mouth. He was shivering all over and couldn't remember the reason why he tried to push her away.

"That's right, just relax and forget about all those people that don't really care about you." She whispered in his ear. His brain tried to make him seen reason, but maybe it was just better to relax and close his eyes. At least he'd have something, even if it was only this thing, this doppelganger.

The fake pulled away from him and he shifted his weight and rolled over, trapping her beneath his body.

She smiled up at him, "You're for me number seventeen, and I'm for you."

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The team met up with the police in Ogden and a team of FBI agents from the field office. Garcia was on speaker phone from the Salt Lake office, where Hotch had ordered her to remain. They were stuffed into a small conference room at the precinct.

"Ok boy and girls. There's a large area to the north of this castle that's large enough to land a helicopter. It's just what every self respecting mad scientist needs in the twenty-first century."

"Anything else we need to know baby girl." Morgan asked ignoring the looks the officers were giving him.

"No… just bring my sweet boy home in one piece, and gorgeous, you better call me as soon as it's over."

Morgan laughed, "Ok sugar, I let you know, I promise."

They headed out to the vehicles gathered around the outside of the building and headed out of town and up the canyon. It was late afternoon, and the sun was beginning to head to the horizon. Morgan watched it go by from the front seat as it painted the sky dark blue, then purple, and pink and gold. The wind was picking up and it howled across the windows as they traveled farther into the canyon. There were clouds building to the south and the temperature was going down fast.

_What if they got there and this Dr. Black had killed Reid. What if all of it was true, and Reid was under some kind of spell, or suggestion, and he was programmed to hurt them. _

Morgan didn't want to hurt the young man to save him, but he would do whatever was necessary to save his little brother.

Hotch, Morgan, Emily, JJ and Rossi went up the old logging road to the back of the castle, and the police and other agents went in the front door. There was a helicopter on call for them and more backup on the way.

They finally got to the end of the road and had to get out into the forest. "I can't imagine him coming into the woods on purpose; he's still terrified of them." He told Hotch as they climbed up the sloping path.

"It depends on how strong the suggestion is. It could override the PTSD he's suffering." Hotch said over his shoulder.

They pushed through the trees and finally gained the top of the ridge at about the same time as their backup.

"Ok everyone, let's go get Reid." Hotch said.


	9. Here comes the Cavalry!

_A/n hey people! Here's another chapter. Thanks so much for all of your wonderful and helpful reviews. Keep em' coming. _

_Thanks to my great beta REIDFANATIC. She makes sure this is readable and not riddled with mistakes._

_Disclaimer: CBS owns all that is recognizable. No copyright infringement is intended with this posting._

_**Here comes the Cavalry. **_

James strode into the lab looking irritated rather than concerned. "Dr. Black, the sensors are picking up something. We've got company coming from every direction."

"What… I thought you told me that you secured the perimeter." Black said, leaping down from his chair in front of his latest experiment.

"You told me that your subject was under control, that his team wouldn't be able to find him." James argued.

"His programming was perfect. There is no way he could fight it."

"He looked like he was fighting it when I found him. He was about to bolt when I found him at the top of the ridge."

"That was part of his programming," Dr. Black said gathering up some of his papers "He was supposed to wake up when it was too late for him to turn back. All is not lost. All we have to do is a little damage control.

"What are you talking about? There's me, and you, and a couple of boys at the main gate who've surely been arrested by now. We have to flee." James insisted, grabbing his employer's arm.

"You forget yourself, James. I'm the one that pays the bills and keeps the authorities off your back. I expect my employees to be loyal.

Dr. Black reached for a beaker on his table and before James could react, he threw the contents in the man's face. James screamed and began to claw at his face. He fell to the stone floor, rolling around in agony, and screaming high, breathless, screams.

"Did you know that just a little bit of lye in the face can blind a man, or enter his esophagus and close off his airway? I give you about three minutes and you're dead." Dr. Black stepped over the man that was writhing and choking on the floor. His face bled in multiple places and his hands clawed at his throat, digging furrows in the skin.

"You served a purpose, but I don't need someone around me that constantly questions what I have created with my own genius. It's time to go get number seventeen and his lovely companion. He is truly loyal and will die to protect me."

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"That's right, just relax and forget about all those people that don't really care about you." She whispered in his ear. His brain tried to make him seen reason, but maybe it was just better to relax and close his eyes. At least he'd have something, even if it was only this thing, this doppelganger.

The fake pulled away from him and he shifted his weight and rolled over, trapping her beneath his body.

She smiled up at him, "You're for me number seventeen, and I'm for you."

The word "seventeen," snapped something in his brain. He leaped away from her and backed away as far as he could get in the locked room.

"Get away from me. You're not her. I don't want anyone but her. Can't you understand that?" He pushed her away and this time she hit the floor hard.

The thing in front of him began to cry. He almost walked forward and reached out a hand to her, to pull her up off the bed and tell her he was sorry. Then, she looked up at him and he could see in her eyes that the tears were a programmed response.

"You disgust me." He shouted, angry at the betrayal of his own body.

"Please…" She said in a little breathy voice. "I know I can make you happy Spencer. He told me that you would love me." She pouted, big tears leaking out of her eyes.

"No… You need to stay away from me!" He backed up against the wall.

"We're locked in here. He told me that he wouldn't let us out until I succeeded." She was on her feet again and walked slowly to Reid.

He tried to push his backside into the stone wall behind him, so that she didn't touch him again. He couldn't stand to have her hands on him. It had been a mistake to allow her that close to him. There was no place to go and the next thing he knew her hands were sliding up and down his chest.

"I told you to get away from me." He repeated, his voice rising.

She took handfuls of his shirt in her hands and pulled him in for another kiss. He tried to push her away but she was too strong this time.

"Ah… I see my men were right, number seventeen!" Dr. Black said from across the room.

Reid hadn't heard the key in the lock or the door open. "Pity that we have to leave just when you two were getting to know each other."

Reid shoved her away with all of his strength, and she stumbled away from him and into the far wall. Reid ignored the cry of pain that left her mouth.

"I don't want to get to know her! She's just a copy! She's not real!" Reid shouted at him.

"It doesn't matter. We have company, and we have to leave, now!" Dr. Black gestured at the door with his gun.

"I'm not going anywhere with you. You can take your abominations with you and get out, but I am not moving from this spot."

"Oh… I think you will. You see… Your FBI friends are here, and I know you want a chance to say goodbye."

"I'm not telling anyone goodbye. They're my real friends. They'll never give up till they stop you."

"You're so loyal number seventeen. That's such an admirable trait. It's too bad you're loyal to the wrong people."

"I'm not I -"

Dr. Black interrupted him. "We'll see about that, remember your favorite poem from all those years ago."

Reid looked from the doppelganger to Dr. Black. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do, listen carefully to me. _"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,"_

Reid's face went slack as the trance he'd experienced earlier in the day re-asserted control over him. He repeated. "_And sorry I could not travel both."_

"Good, now when your friends arrive, you're going to protect me and your equal with your very life." Dr. Black handed his gun to Reid and indicated the door. Reid and the clone left the room. Dr. Black followed them, pulling a second weapon out of the lab coat pocket.

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"That was Agent Hoyt. They have the guards at the front gate under arrest. They told the agents that Dr. Black and his butler James are the only ones in the castle." Hotch told them after stowing away his phone.

"You don't believe that, do you?" Emily asked her unit chief.

"Of course not… Let's go!" He ordered.

The wind was picking up and blowing the fallen leaves around. It made them dance as if by the command of a magician. The sky was getting cloudy and grey, faster than Emily had ever seen. The storm front would be there before they found Reid.

The BAU team crossed onto the road and headed quickly up to the castle and through the doors with a SWAT team behind them. Emily couldn't believe the castle on the inside. Everything was European antiques, and marble walls and floors. She'd seen such things in some of the places she'd lived as a child, but never to this extent.

"Wow, this place is a museum." JJ said.

"Pay attention and spread out. We have to find Reid. Watch out for booby traps and other surprises. I'm sure this Dr. Black knows we're on our way here." Hotch said.

Hotch, JJ and Rossi took the large marble staircase in front of them to the second floor. It was black marble with gold threads shooting through it. The banisters were polished mahogany, but Emily turned a blind eye to all of it. Reid was there and she had to find him before this doctor hurt him, or did something terrible to him.

She and Morgan checked out the first floor, which was enormous, going from bedrooms, to kitchen, to a large ballroom. The ballroom has a marvelous oak parquet floor that was as clean, and polished, as the rest of the house, and just as empty. They called out for Reid not caring that they might be heard. They wanted this confrontation. Emily wanted the confrontation. She wanted to wring this Dr. Black's neck till his head exploded.

The library was the last to be checked and it was empty as well. "I hope Hotch is having better luck than we are." Morgan said.

He turned and she saw the fear gathering in his eyes. It was the same thing she'd seen when they were in Georgia.

"We're going to find him." She said, holstering her gun. Her hands had begun to sweat freely.

"Are you sure of that Emily? It seems to me that this doctor Black is out for unfinished business." He retorted, swiping a hand at a small crystal swan on a side table. It crashed to the floor and shattered on the black and white marble floor.

"Morgan… You have to keep it together for Reid. Why don't you do that thing you do?"

"Emily what are you talking about?"

"You know, role playing. You do it better than all of us put together. Do it now. Get inside Dr. Black's head."

Morgan closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. He rubbed a hand over his shaved head and began to speak.

"Okay… I'm a psychopathic scientist with a major God complex. I experimented with human DNA and created my version of the perfect human. I want to raise this child to do whatever I want him to do. All is going well until someone I trusted takes my only success away. I've been watching him for a long time waiting for the right time. I use some kind of post hypnotic suggestion to get him to drop everything and come back to me."

Emily watched him pace up and down in front of one bookcase next to the marble fireplace. It was large enough to walk into, and then she thought that would be way too cliché.

"… I've got him back for whatever plans I have, world domination is probably on the top of the list. Isn't that what they do in the Frankenstein, and Manchurian Candidate movies, or books?"

Her eyes narrowed at that last comment. There was something about what he just said that made her think of something she read…

"Hey Emily… you ok?" Morgan was saying to her, his voice echoing like it was coming through a long tunnel.

"Emily…"

"There something I remembered from what we found in the safety deposit box." She was standing in front of one section of the bookcases she'd been looking at very closely.

"What are you talking about?"

"Frankenstein," She pulled a book out and a door swung open.

"Oh girl… that's just too cliché to be true." Morgan said looking at the door, and the steps that went down and back at Emily again, who was smiling grimly.

"William Reid knew about. He doesn't say why, but he did."

"Well… ladies first," Morgan gestured to the doorway.

"I don't think so. Why don't you do the macho thing and go first." She argued.

"Fine, but watch my back." He grinned.

"I'm not Garcia, don't flirt with me." Emily demanded trying not to laugh, but the absurdity of the whole situation was too much.

"Come on… let's check the basement." He radioed up to Hotch, and told him what they had found and ignored his boss when he was told to wait for them, and the other agents.

They entered the stairway, and moved slowly down the circular staircase and the slimy marble steps.

"He's so neat and clean upstairs; you'd think he would pay better attention to this part of the house." Emily whispered.

Morgan grunted and moved a little faster down the stairs, his gun in front of him. The steps ended on a large torch lit room. It was equipped like the lab of any self respecting mad scientist with large tables and beakers with Bunsen burners, and yellowed pages of formulae and diagrams he couldn't read when he stepped up to the nearest table.

"Hey Emily… look at this?" He motioned to her.

"Yes… why don't you come closer?" A voice that wasn't Emily said to him from behind.

_A/n The poetry in the chapter is quoted from "The Road not taken," by Robert Frost _


	10. Decisions, decisions

_A/n hey everyone here's the next chapter. You've been patient and now things get more exciting. Thank you all for your kind reviews, I hope this meets expectations._

_Disclaimer: Yep... only the unrecognizable characters are mine_

_**Decisions, decisions.**_

JJ, Hotch and Rossi hit the upstairs with a group from the SWAT team. The appearance of the second floor was a lot like the first floor of the castle. The upper hallway had the same color marble walls and floors. Mahogany tables lined the hallway that was the same size as the entryway, large enough to accommodate a small car. The tables were hand carved with symbols JJ didn't recognize. The brief thought that Reid would know, skipped through her mind as they made their way through the hallway. She made that thought leave her mind. They would find him and he would be just fine. He'd be even better now that he didn't have to worry about inheriting his mother's disease.

There were hand painted vases of flowers on the tables. Some of them held roses of varying colors, black, blood red, yellow and even pink. The other vases had carnations in matching colors with bits of baby's breath. All of the walls were hung with tapestries that looked very old and hand made in dark colors of burgundy, reds, blues and some yellows. There were similar types of rugs on the floors. Everything was polished to a mirror shine.

There were doors leading off the hallway at regular intervals. The group of law enforcement officials separated, and began to clear the rooms one by one. All of the rooms were as well kept as the rest of the castle. They were decorated in much the same manner as the hallways and the rooms on the first floor.

JJ met up with Hotch at the end of the hallway. "I don't see any indication that Reid has been up here." He told her.

"I didn't find anything either. If he's been here, it isn't in this area of the castle."

"Then we'll assume that he's downstairs somewhere."

"Have Morgan and Emily reported in yet."

"Just once, they were going to check out the library, but I haven't heard from them since then."

"That's been nearly twenty minutes ago. We need to find out where they are now."

"Don't panic JJ. I'm sure they're okay." Hotch tried to reassure her, but her face was pale and her eyes were huge in their sockets.

"JJ… Morgan and Emily can take care of themselves."

Hotch was about to reach for his mike to contact Morgan and Emily, when Rossi and another police officer approached them from a room on the other side of the hallway.

"We found his office." Rossi said.

They followed Rossi and the officer back to the room. It was completely different from the rest of the castle. There was a large desk made from pine and stained to reflect the natural beauty of the wood. In the center of the desk was a blotter and to one side a calendar turned to today's date. The other side of the desk had an old fashioned rotary dial phone and the rest of the desk was blank. There were no computers, and only old fashioned gaslight fixtures which were the same throughout the rest of the castle.

"We haven't gone through all of the cabinets, but there are several file folders pertaining to some of the doctors less successful experiments over here." Rossi gestured to a large, hand carved wooden chair in the corner of the room. It looked like picking it up would take about five men.

"Apparently the doctor was trying to duplicate his so-called success in Reid for years. Now I'm not an expert or a medical doctor. I've only just skimmed this file, but it looks like all of his experiments failed at some point in their development. Some of them were viable after birth, but died afterward from some disease or birth defect. There were only two that survived into adulthood, Reid, whom he calls number seventeen and another one, number ninety three. The last one he attempted was killed in Europe. I don't know the details; it's probably in the rest of these files." Rossi finished throwing the file down on the desk.

Hotch called down to Agent Kane, the head of the team sent up with them from the office in Salt Lake City. "I need you to get up here with a couple of your agents, and go through the files in the office we found up stairs.

"Roger… I'll be with you in a minute." The female voice said over the mike.

"We're at the end of the hall and on the left." Hotch told her "Ok… we need to find Morgan and Emily. There has to be something we're missing."

"Oh… you mean like this." Rossi said with a smile.

He gestured to the door and Hotch and JJ followed him back down the hallway to another room. It was a bedroom. He went to the fireplace and reached behind the marble mantle piece. The entire fireplace swung out, and to the amazement of Hotch and JJ, there was a passageway behind the wall.

"How did you find this?" JJ asked.

"Well I figured since this is an old European castle and we're dealing with someone that thinks of himself as Dr. Frankenstein incarnate, it was logical that there would be secret passages." Rossi said matter-of-factly.

Hotch keyed his mike and tried to get Morgan, but he didn't answer the unit chief. He tried Emily next and she didn't respond.

"I knew something was wrong." JJ was saying when an officer from downstairs entered the room.

"Agent Hotchner… We found something downstairs. There's some kind of secret passageway in the wall. It's down in the library. Agent Morgan and Agent Prentiss went down to check it out. We haven't heard from them in several minutes. " The officer was a large muscle bound black man that made Morgan look like a little kid. He was looking surprised to see another opening in a wall like the one he and his partner had found in the library.

"I told him to wait for me." Hotch said with some exasperation. His cold glower made the officer raise an eyebrow and look inquiringly at Rossi. The older agent ignored the officer.

"Rossi… I want you and JJ to check out the passageway here. I'm going to accompany this gentleman down to the library." Hotch said.

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Morgan grunted and moved a little faster down the stairs, his gun in front of him. The steps ended on a large torch lit room. It was equipped like the lab of any self respecting mad scientist with large tables and beakers with Bunsen burners and yellowed pages of formulae and diagrams he couldn't read when he stepped up to the nearest table.

"Hey Emily… look at this?" He motioned to her.

"Yes… why don't you come closer?" A voice that wasn't Emily said to him from behind.

Morgan and Emily whirled around to meet voice, and saw a short man with black hair and glittering eyes holding a gun in one hand. Reid was next to the man and next to Reid stood a woman.

"What the hell…" Emily said in shock at seeing a perfect double of herself next to Reid.

"Put the gun down." Morgan ordered the man at the same time as Emily was speaking.

"I don't think so Agent Morgan. You and your lovely partner will be moving aside and letting us leave or…" He gestured to Reid who was looking as though he didn't recognize his team members or anything around him but the doctor and the doppelganger next to him.

"Number seventeen, why don't you show the FBI agents that we mean business." Dr. Black said with a cat that swallowed the mouse grin.

Reid stepped forward and raised a gun and pointed it at Morgan. The flames from the torches that lit the walls reflected of the silver of the barrel of the gun. Morgan ignored it and faced down his partner.

"Reid… It's Morgan… Why don't you put the gun down?" He said in a reasonable tone.

"I can't… I have to do what my master tells me." He said in a hopeless and incredibly sad voice.

"You don't have to do this Reid," Emily said, trying to ignore the woman that was hanging on Reid's free arm and smiling at her with blank, dark eyes.

"Yes… you're the enemy and I have to do as the master commands." His voice was calm, but his eyes were stuttering back and forth in his sockets, as if in a dream. There was misery in them that Emily had never seen before.

"No… you don't have to do anything you don't want to do." Morgan said, his brain trying to get his gun hand to remember this was Reid, and loosen its grip on the trigger.

"Number seventeen, kill the FBI agents, do it now!" Dr. Black insisted.

"Shut up!" Morgan snarled at the man, turning his gun on the doctor.

"Put your gun down Morgan," Reid ordered in that same quiet voice.

"Not in this lifetime or any other my man."

"Snap out of it Reid." Emily said in clipped off tones. Her hands held her gun on Dr. Black. "Don't listen to the psycho!"

"You shut up and get ready to die!" Dr. Black said, he was giggling again. Emily saw only madness in the black eyes.

"Listen to the doctor baby, and kill them." The false Emily encouraged Reid. "He doesn't need you." She said to the real Emily, disdain and contempt coating her voice.

"Shut up bitch!" Emily shot back, turning her gun on the fake.

"Please… put down the guns… I don't want to hurt you." Reid was saying and pain was lacing his voice. His eyes continued their rapid dance back and forth in his skull.

"You don't have to hurt us Reid. We love you." Emily said.

"No you don't," Reid said. You don't love me, you just use me."

"That's right number seventeen, they don't care about you." Dr. Black said, pointing at the agents with his gun. "Listen to the one I made for you. She speaks the truth."

"No… Don't listen to him!" Morgan said. "He isn't your father or anyone important. Your father gave his life for you. He left you because he loves you. You have to come back with us and read the letter he left for you."

Reid's hands were trembling and the gun was falling to his side. "Number seventeen! Kill the intruders! Do your duty for once in your miserable life and take your place at my side." Dr. Black demanded, slamming his fist down on the table nearest to where they were standing.

The gun in Reid's hand shifted back up to point at Emily. "Spencer… please doesn't listen to him. I love you. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before now, but it's true. Believe me and put the gun down."

"Don't listen to her. Kill her now." Dr. Black shouted. He stepped closer to the table ignoring the gun that Morgan held on him.

"Spencer… Please listen to me. That woman next to you isn't real. She doesn't know you like we do. Please come back to us. I want to hear you tell us something useless that we don't need to know. You're important, we need you. I need you!" Tears were collecting in the corners of her eyes and falling over the lashes to her cheeks.

Dr. Black was laughing, and the false Emily was pouting and hanging on Reid's free arm like some crazy sorority girl.

"I have to do as my master says." Reid repeated.

"Hurry number seventeen, the others are coming. They'll imprison you again with their unrealistic expectations." Dr. Black argued.

Reid's mouth twitched, and his eyes moved back and forth between Emily and Morgan. "I'm sorry I have to…" His finger squeezed the trigger. Morgan hit the stone floor and Emily screamed. She dropped her gun and fell to her knees next to Morgan.

"What are you doing?" She screamed to Reid, who looked like he'd just come out of a dream.

"Emily… what's going on I don't…"

The doppelganger had been inching away from Reid and Dr. Black, and now she stood with her gun on Emily.

"Get up…" She said coldly, her glittering dark eyes narrowed in anger at Emily.

"Leave her alone!" Reid shouted.

The fake bent down and jerked Emily to her feet, hooking an arm around her neck and placing the gun next to Emily's temple.

Dr. Black was laughing with delight at this turn of events. "You see seventeen; ninety-four obeys me in everything I order her to do. Now kill the bitch and we'll get out of this place for good."

"No I'm not listening to you anymore." Reid said, bringing his gun up to point at the two women in front of him. "L-let her go and I won't k-kill you." His whole body was shaking, but his hand remained steady on the trigger of the gun.

"No… I'm going to kill her and then we'll be together forever.

Reid looked from the fake to the real Emily. Dr. Black was cackling and applauding his creation. He moved away from the group step by step to one end of the lab.

"Kill me Reid! I don't want to live if you prefer this bitch over me." Emily told him.

"No… I don't want to hurt any of you." Reid shouted back, the pain and despair at shooting Morgan was more than he could stand.

"Do it!" Emily screamed. The doppelganger was laughing with glee at this exchange.

His hand was shaking and he move the gun just a little to take in his target. He tried to remember what Hotch told him so long ago, but Emily's dark eyes pushed it all away. It was her eyes that showed him what he had to do next.

"I'm sorry," He said pulling the trigger. Two shots rang out in the huge lab and two bodies fell to the stone floor, and red blood began to flow like rain on glass.


	11. It's finally over, or is it?

_A/n hey everyone... I'm so happy with all of the positive feedback on the last chapter in particular. Here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it._

_Disclaimer: The insane doctor, the clone, and the butler/assassin are mine. Hm… I just realized that might not be a good thing! Hey… some of my original characters are normal! Anyway CBS owns everything recognizable._

_**It's finally over, or is it?**_

Hotch and the two SWAT team members entered the library and Hotch wasn't surprised to see the other secret passageway. Everything else about this case had been so weird, why not secret passageways honeycombing the place?

He followed the largest of the SWAT agents down a tightly spiraling staircase. It didn't look like the butler or cleaning staff had been here in decades. The stairs were a little slippery and the fluttering light of the torches didn't help to keep them steady on their feet. Hotch had his flashlight out and was turning it on when he heard arguing voices from below them.

Hotch entered the lab in time to hear to gunshots and see Reid and a dark haired woman fall to the ground. The SWAT agents were calling for Dr. Black to put down his gun but he only laughed.

"You won't take me alive!" He shouted and then threw the contents of one beaker of chemicals at another.

Fire erupted with a small explosion. The fire caught fast and began to burn the tables with orange and

yellow flames. It made their shadows dance around the room like demons. The SWAT agents fired their weapons at the same time, but didn't hit Dr. Black. The doctor disappeared behind the flames that cut off the agents from him. They tried to follow, but the fire burned too fast. They had to get out of that lab.

"Sir… there's wounded here." One SWAT agent yelled, his gun pointed into the burning room.

Hotch turned to see three figures lying on the stone floor just a few feet from him. "Help me…" He yelled to the agents.

The body closest to him had a lot of blood around the right side of his body. He lay face up and his long brown hair obscured half his face. Hotch knelt next to the body. "Reid… Can you hear me?" He pressed two shaking fingers on his young agent's neck and felt the pulse, slow and regular.

"Reid… Wake up!"

The young man didn't move and his eyes stayed shut. There was a gaping wound in his chest, high and on the right side of his body that was bleeding profusely. Hotch pulled off his coat and tried to stop the bleeding. When he pushed down on Reid's shoulder the young man groaned and his eyelids fluttered open.

"Reid… Stay with me!" Hotch commanded loudly over the flames. They were getting closer. Reid's eyes closed again. "Don't close your eyes." Hotch screamed.

"Hotch," Morgan spoke loudly behind him. Emily was swaying on her feet and staring down at Reid. She was crying hard. "We've got to get him out of here." Morgan was saying.

"Grab his legs." Hotch ordered as he lifted the moaning young man's upper body. Morgan lifted, groaned loudly, and staggered under the weight of his friend.

"What's wrong Morgan?" Hotch called over the noise of the crackling flames.

"I'm alright! Let's get him out of here," He called back.

The two of them carried him as fast as they could up the spiral staircase. Emily followed them up the stairs and out the door. It shut behind her when she pushed the book back into place. She followed Morgan and Hotch who still carried Reid to the outside of the castle.

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Night had come to the mountains. JJ and Rossi were standing on the lawn in front of the castle with several FBI agents. There was no sign of the fire anywhere in the rest of the castle. She could hear the thunder overhead and see the lightning splitting the sky, but there was no sign of rain. Hotch and Morgan was ahead of her carrying Reid to the helicopter sitting a distance away from the castle.

"JJ…" Emily called, and the communications expert turned and strode to where her friend stood. "Have you seen Dr. Black?" She asked the blond agent.

"No… what happened down there?"

"I don't have time to explain. Reid's been shot."

"What… is he okay? Where is he?"

"Morgan and Hotch took him to the helicopter. He needs to get to the hospital." Emily said, beginning to cry again.

JJ resisted the urge to run and find out how Reid was, instead she put an arm around Emily and pulled her down the grassy hill to the helipad. "Reid is stronger than any of us. He's not checking out, not now." She stroked Emily's hair back from her face.

"Go… they're going to take off soon." The sound of the engines changed to a deeper whine, and the rotor blades began to spin faster and faster, blowing wind into their faces and making them squint.

Emily smiled weakly at her friend and took off toward the helicopter. "Hey Emily…" JJ yelled. The older agent turned to look back with an exasperated expression. "When he wakes up… tell him you love him." JJ hollered back, and then began to laugh at the look on her friend's face, before turning to go back up the hill.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How are you feeling?" Rossi was asking Morgan.

"You gotta love bullet proof vests." Morgan responded, stretching and groaning. He'd been hit square in the chest with Reid's bullet and his breast bone hurt like hell. He guessed it was better than being dead!

The emergency room was quiet. The excitement of the past hour was over, and all the team could do was to sit and wait to hear about Reid.

"Did you call Garcia?" JJ asked Morgan.

"I forgot, she's going to skin me alive." He admitted pulling his phone out of his pocket. He didn't sound too concerned at that eventuality, and it made Emily smile in spite of the situation.

A passing nurse gave him a baleful stare. "You can't use that in here." She said.

"Ok… ok… I'll leave." He growled at her. She narrowed her eyes at him and stalked off in the direction the doctors had taken Reid.

Morgan left the emergency room and Emily watched him walk away. He had someone to talk to. The nurses and doctors wouldn't tell her anything. Hotch was Reid's emergency contact, and had no luck getting any information from the doctors, except that they had to wait. That was the only thing she could do was wait, and wait.

She sat next to JJ who was writing something in a notebook. She looked at her watch and stood up. "Hotch… I'm going to take care of the press conference and then I'll be back." Hotch nodded and JJ patted Emily on the shoulder before she left the room.

Morgan came back to the waiting room several minutes later. He didn't look very happy. "Hey Morgan…" Emily said when he sat down next to her. "What's wrong?"

"I just talked to Garcia. She's pretty pissed that Reid was shot." He said glumly looking down at his phone as though it could talk sense to his tech goddess. "She thinks I should have prevented it."

"You know how close she is to Reid. She'll come around eventually and realize it wasn't your fault."

"Thanks Emily…. That makes me feel so much better."

Emily went back to the magazine she wasn't reading, and after several minutes, a big dark skinned hand covered hers and she looked up to see Morgan looking at her questioningly. "You okay Emily?"

Tears threatened at his kind tone. "I'm fine." She lied.

"No… I don't think you are."

"Morgan… Leave it alone, please!"

"I'm just saying that if you really care for my man, you need to tell him. I know," He raised his free hand to stop what she'd been about to say. "That's kind of weak coming from me, but don't follow my example. Reid deserves better than that."

Emily's mouth was beginning to tremble and a single tear made its way down her face. Morgan squeezed her hand gently. "He doesn't care about JJ that way anymore."

"How do you -"

"I know my friend. You're the one he wants, even if he can't admit it. He's been hurt a lot; you can't blame him for locking people out of his heart."

"You're a real romantic," Emily said with a sniff.

"Yeah… don't tell the un-subs." He kidded and patted her hand again.

He got up and went to go talk to Hotch and Rossi, telling them as best he could what had happened in that underground lab.

A doctor with dark brown hair and brown eyes that were tired, but kind, approached their group. She was about Emily's height and she wore green scrubs with a white coat. Emily saw the blood on the front of the scrubs and her stomach did a slow roll. Was that Reid's blood? The doctor's face looked exhausted, but not sorrowful so maybe…

"Spencer Reid…" She asked looking around.

"Yes… that's us." Hotch stepped up and Emily joined him, Rossi and Morgan in a little semi circle around the doctor.

"I'm Dr Wright. Dr. Reid is out of surgery. He was shot in the upper right quadrant of his chest. The lung was grazed but it didn't collapse. We repaired the damage, but he's lost a lot of blood."

Hotch appraised the woman critically, but it was Rossi that said. "What haven't you told us doctor?"

"He's in a coma. We nearly lost him twice on the table, but we were able to stabilize him. He's in recovery and then he'll be in ICU."

"When can we see him?" Morgan asked the question that was burning on Emily's tongue.

"He'll be in recovery for at least three hours. After that, only one of you at a time and not for very long, he may be in a coma, but he still needs his rest." She admonished them. "A nurse will come and get you when he's out of recovery."

She left the waiting room and they went back to waiting. Emily went back to staring at her magazine instead of reading it. After awhile JJ came back to the waiting room and Morgan took her aside to tell her the news.

JJ sat down on the other side of Emily, and as she had when they waited for Garcia, she took Emily's free hand.

"He's going to be okay." JJ said softly.

"How do you know?" Emily blurted out without thinking. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest it hurt.

"Because he's Reid…" JJ said. "And I want to see the look on his face when you tell him you love him." She grinned at her older friend.

"Very funny… for your information, I already told him." 

"Really, what did he say?" JJ asked looking extremely excited.

"Nothing… He shot Morgan instead."

"Oh… well I'm sure that didn't have anything to do with you." JJ patted her arm reassuringly.

Emily only glared at her chuckling friend. "I'm only trying to cheer you up." JJ explained.

"Thanks, I think," Emily retorted. She put the magazine down she'd been grasping in one hand like a safety net.

"Really, I just want both of you to be happy. I never loved him the way he wanted and honestly, I'm sorry for that, because he's a great guy. Sometimes it's not meant to be between two people."

"But what if -"

"No… stop doubting and just tell him again. He loves you. Everyone sees it and if you really see him you'll know it's true." JJ said.

Emily didn't know how to answer that and when the nurse came to tell them Reid could have visitors, she went last.

He was as white as the sheets that were pulled up to his chin. His hair had lost its luster, and his deep brown eyes were shut, the long lashes lying motionless on his cheeks. There were IV lines infusing into both arms. He had a nasal cannula in his nose, but they said it was only a precaution. He was breathing on his own.

She stayed watching him for as long as the nurse would let her, but he never moved or made a sound. She couldn't speak even though the doctors said he might hear what she said. Her mouth wouldn't make the words she wanted to say before they made her leave.

Hotch ordered them all to get some sleep after Emily left Reid's room. She didn't want to leave, but Hotch's glare pushed her out the door with the rest of them. Reid wasn't going anywhere and he was only a phone call away.

JJ had got them rooms at the closest hotel. JJ and Emily were sharing one of the three available rooms. There was a dentist convention in town and few rooms to rent. Emily wished that she were alone, but apart from a pat on the shoulder, and telling her that if she wanted to talk she would listen, JJ was quiet.

They changed for bed and turned out the light. Emily tossed and turned, wondering if what JJ had said was right, maybe it was time to tell him how she felt and hope he loved her too.


	12. Awakenings

_A/n hey all, thanks for all your wonderful reviews. Here's the next chapter and a few more answers to the puzzle_

_Disclaimer: Same drill, I don't own them!_

_**Awakenings**_

Emily awoke to sunshine, and a world that had been swept clean by the rain that had finally come just after midnight. At first, what had happened the night before seemed like a terrible dream.

"Hey Emily… you awake." JJ asked from the other bed.

She turned over to see her friend sitting up in bed, her blond hair mussed and her eyes were red-rimmed. JJ threw off the covers, and adjusted the white tee shirt she wore with pink plaid pajama bottoms.

Emily rubbed at her gritty and burning eyes like a small child. "I was hoping it was a dream." She said hoarsely.

"No… it wasn't a dream." JJ said grabbing the clothes she'd laid out the night before. "I wish it was, but it's not."

"God…" Emily turned onto her back and stretched. Her neck and her back were killing her from tossing and turning till the early hours.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" JJ asked. The blond agent sat down next to her friend and took Emily's hand.

"A little… Did I keep you awake?" Emily asked.

"No… I went to sleep right off. Some friend I am! Reid's in a coma and I just roll over and go to sleep!" Seeing the look on Emily's face, she ducked her head and tried to hold back more tears.

When she thought she could look at Emily without losing it, she raised her head and saw that Emily was crying too.

"I'm sorry Emily…" She leaned into embrace her friend. "I know this is about Reid and not me, but I'm so scared he's not going to wake up. I'd give anything to hear a statistic on the mating habits of orangutans, or the batting averages of the nineteen seventy five Mets, or something equally boring and unimportant.

Emily sniffed and smiled, "Yeah…"

JJ ran her fingers through her hair and pulled away from Emily. "Ok… now is not the time for wallowing. I'm going to hit the shower." She watched Emily carefully and saw that tears were still running down her cheeks.

"Em… He's going to wake up, and when he does you're going to have a long talk with him."

"I hope so… God I hope so."

"He will! He's going to be fine, believe in that!" JJ ordered her friend. "Now… When I'm finished with the bathroom, I want to see a smile on your face."

"Ok… I'll try."

JJ patted her arm and stood up. Emily watched her go to the bathroom and after the door closed, she turned over and wept.

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The team gathered around the table they'd been shown to in the hotel's coffee shop. Hotch had insisted on talking to all of them before they went back to the hospital. There was no word on Reid or his condition.

"The field agents here have been going over the documents we found in the office last night. Dave and I have looked at some of them as well, and I think we have a partial picture of what Dr. Black was up to." Hotch told them after they'd placed orders for breakfast.

Emily listened while he laid it out for them, but she didn't eat the scrambled eggs and toast on the plate in front of her. The plastic plate had tiny, faded pink roses circling it, and one large rose in the middle with green leaves. Pink roses are the longest existing roses known to man. They symbolize grace, elegance, sweetness and poetic romance.

"Emily…" Hotch's voice pulled her out of her thoughts of roses and their meaning, and how stupid it was to be thinking about sentimental nonsense. She stabbed her fork into her eggs before looking up to face her team leader.

"You ok…" He asked?

"Yes… I'm sorry. What were you saying?" She wondered.

"I was just saying that it looks like Dr. Black was planning on kidnapping you and replacing you with the clone you told me about. His plan was for Dr. Reid to infiltrate to the highest levels of government by marrying the daughter of an Ambassador. Of course that wouldn't be you, it would be the clone. He had to have someone with Reid that he could control. Reid was supposed to kill the President of the United States."

The team was gaping at Hotch. "You're kidding," Garcia asked. She was white faced and trembling next to Morgan.

"No… that's what we've been able to determine from his papers."

"What does Washington have to say about all this?" Rossi asked after taking a thoughtful sip of his coffee.

"I spoke with headquarters last night. Of course the Director isn't happy about Reid, but he understands the circumstances." Hotch directed a very grave look toward Morgan. "I didn't tell him about your shooting."

"What shooting… I got a little rough teaching hand to hand, that's all." Morgan responded seriously. Garcia squeezed his hand gratefully. Emily would have kissed him had it not meant major embarrassment, and maybe getting decked by Penelope.

"There were three bodies in the lab. It appears that Dr. Black, the clone or double, or whatever she was, and his man servant are all dead. They're burned beyond recognition, so we'll check dental records and DNA to be sure." Hotch informed them. He took a bite from the bacon on his plate while the others silently mulled over this news.

"We have all the names of his employees and the men that tracked down Reid for him. It looks like one of them is a profiler on one of the other teams at Quantico.

Morgan dropped his fork with a clatter that had several people turning to glare his way. He surged to his feet. "Who is it Hotch?" He said in a dangerous low tone.

"Hey Gorgeous… sit down will you, people are staring." Garcia tugged on his arm.

"Baby girl I love you, but I'm gonna kill -"

"Morgan… Sit down now!" Hotch ordered his tone so icy, the air seemed to crackle around the words.

Morgan sat down and stared at his plate. One hand clenched and unclenched in a fist. Garcia had taken the other hand, and was hanging on with a strength that surprised Morgan.

"I know you're all upset." Hotch said, trying to quiet the ripple of curses, and threats of violence going around the table. "IAB is on it. We're to stay here till Reid can be moved. When he wakes up, the director wants him sent to a private clinic the Bureau runs."

"But Hotch, you know how he'll hate that." Morgan said.

Hotch turned his stare on the younger agent. "Yes… I know that, but he has to be debriefed and deprogrammed. You of all people know what it's like to be in deep cover. The Bureau has the best personnel to handle this. There are things in his mind that have to be removed, brain washing, post hypnotic suggestion and who knows what else. It has to be done if Reid wants to stay in the FBI!"

"Guys… let's not talk about this right now." JJ pleaded. Emily wanted to hug her for saying what she didn't dare. "Let's concentrate on getting Reid better."

"JJ's right," Rossi said.

The agents were mostly silent after that, lost in their own thoughts. Emily pushed her food around on the plate, and wondered when it was all going to end.

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"Hotch sent me in here to kick you out." Morgan said.

Emily jerked awake in the tan colored easy chair next to Reid's hospital bed. Her eyes had been trying to shut for the last hour. The book she was reading to him had slipped closed on her lap, and still he didn't move or open his eyes.

He was out of ICU and in a private room at the hospital. The wing of the hospital he'd been sent to was new. Someone had decided that painting the walls a rust-brown color with geometric borders of yellows, blues, and reds and having tile on the floors with different shades of brown in the same geometric patterns, would be cheerful, but the patterns made Emily dizzy if she stared at the floor for too long.

"Prentiss, did you hear what I said?"

"Yes…" She said over a long and loud yawn that nearly cracked her jaw.

"You've been here for three days straight!"

"I know that Derek. What's your point?"

Morgan heaved a huge sigh and sat down in the less comfortable chair on the other side of the hospital bed. "Emily…. Sitting here and exhausting yourself into unconsciousness won't help Reid. If you want to help him, you need to get some rest."

He picked up a book that was on the table next to Reid's bed and looked at the cover. "The Canterbury Tales," He read. He gave Emily an inquiring look.

"I've been reading to him." She shrugged.

"Girl… He knows all of this stuff by heart. Why read something to him that he already knows?"

Emily flushed and looked at the second book in her lap. She began to nervously finger the edge of the blue sheet that covered Reid.

"I don't want him to be lonely wherever he is." She finally said her face so hot it felt like bad sunburn. "The doctor said that when a patient is in a coma, they might be able to hear the things their love… I mean friends, or family might say to them."

"So you decided to bore my man out of his coma?" Morgan asked with a chuckle.

"No… this is his favorite." She gestured to the book.

"I know that! I just wanted to get a rise out of you." He put the book on the table and stood. "My advice to you is to shut up about medieval literature, and say what you really want to say to him."

"Morgan I don't -"

"Emily… it's time to stop hiding. You've been given a second chance, believe me when I say you want to take it or you'll be sorry." He left the room and she fell back in her chair.

He was right, it was time for her to suck it up and stop running from her feelings. One thing she did know, she wasn't going to talk to Reid until he was fully awake and able to respond.

Her eyes were closing again. The book fell out of her hands and hit the floor with a thud. The chair was so comfortable. It was okay to close her eyes, for just a minute, right?

"_Hey Emily… look at this?" He motioned to her. _

"_Yes… why don't you come closer?" A voice that wasn't Emily said to him from behind. _

_Her body jerked, and she whimpered in her sleep. She saw the clone in front of her, hanging onto Reid's arm. There was so much pain in his eyes as they tried to stop him from firing the gun. He looked so unhappy. Dr. Black was laughing and it echoed all around her. _

"_I need you, don't do this," She heard the words leave her lips, but Reid still shot Morgan. She shouldn't have dropped her gun. She should've kept her eye on the clone. The fake grabbed her and put a gun to her head. The feel of the steel on her forehead, didn't scare her as much as what Reid had just done. What if Morgan hadn't had his vest on?_

"_Kill me Reid! I don't want to live if you prefer this bitch over me." Emily told him. _

"_No… I don't want to hurt any of you." Reid shouted back, the pain and despair at shooting Morgan was more than he could stand. _

"_Do it!" Emily screamed. The doppelganger was laughing with glee at this exchange. _

_The words left her mouth even though she wasn't sure it would work. The gun swung in her direction and her heart leapt hard in her chest. He was going to shoot at her!_

"_No… that's not what I meant!" She screamed. "Reid… don't -"_

_His finger pulled the trigger, and someone grabbed her free arm and yanked her out of the path of the bullet._

"_Emily…" His voice came from far away. Emily… Wake up!"_

Her eyes popped open. Her heart was racing and her hands were sweating. "Emily…" The raspy whisper came from her left. There was pressure on her arm. She didn't want to look. It was part of the dream.

_Just close your eyes, and maybe your hopes won't be dashed when you really wake up and he's still asleep!_

"Emily… Please," the raspy whisper was there and it wouldn't go away! A tear trembled on the lashes of her right eye. She dashed it away with a shaking hand.

"Please look at me!"

It felt like there was a hundred ton rock pressing her head down. "Emily…" His voice was really weak. She turned her head and saw only his deep brown eyes staring back at her.


	13. Fear

_A/n hey guys, I've got one chapter left after this one. Thank you all for your kind reviews and support of this story. It's been fun to write._

_Disclaimer: Only the nutty characters are mine. I guess that explains a lot, huh?_

_**Fear**_

"Emily…" His voice was really weak. She turned her head and saw only his deep brown eyes staring back at her.

"Hey Reid…" Her mouth was so dry, the words got stuck in her throat before making themselves heard to her ears and to the man in the bed next to her.

"Where am I," He asked in that same weak and whispery voice.

"You're in the hospital. I should go get the doctor." Emily shot to her feet and tripped over the book she'd dropped. She stumbled sideways and nearly landed on Reid. Her left hand hit one of his legs. She yanked her hand away as if it were burned. Her face was going hot again.

"Emily… Don't leave."

"I should go get the doctor," She repeated, looking at the blanket covering him instead of his eyes.

"I'm thirsty Emily, can I have some water." He changed tactics.

"Oh yeah… just a minute and I'll get you some."

She rounded the bed without looking at him and picked up the light brown plastic pitcher next to the bed. There was a clear plastic cup with a straw tucked in it. She poured out a little water and held it up to his mouth. This meant she had to look at him and he was trying to capture her eyes with his. There were questions in those eyes that she didn't know the answers to.

"Thanks…" He said after taking a few sips.

"You can't have anymore till the doctor says its okay on your stomach." She said when he asked for more. "I'll go get her now."

"Emily… Tell me what happened. I don't remember." He pleaded, and it was not possible for her to say no to that face.

She sat down on the chair next to the left side of the bed. "What do you remember?"

"I don't know. I thought it was a dream. There was a woman in water and my bedroom." He told her. His eyes were running over her in a way he'd never done before. She could swear he was checking her out!

"What woman in water?" Emily asked, yanking her thoughts away from how he was looking at her and back to the lab.

"The woman in the tank… She was in the water." He insisted. "She was in my room." His eyes went wide and his face was as white as chalk. He looked her up and down again as if trying to solve a problem that would give meaning to his very existence.

"You… you're not Emily. You're her! Get out of here! I don't want you here!" His said suddenly, his voice was rising with every word. His breathing was beginning to increase and his chest heaved up and down.

"Reid… It's Emily. I'm your friend remember." Her hands were shaking, so she folded them in her lap.

His long fingers grabbed anxiously at the light blue blanket. "No you're not. You're her. He's here too! Isn't he? Where is he? Get out of here. I don't want to see either of you. Leave me alone!" He shifted restlessly on the bed, and he would have shouted if he had the strength.

"Spencer… Please!"

"What's going on in here?" The doctor from the waiting room entered with Hotch right behind her. She was throwing daggers at Emily with her eyes.

Reid's eyes latched onto Hotch. "Make her go away Hotch. I don't want her here!" Reid choked out.

The terror in his eyes ripped Emily's heart out. "Emily… what's going on here?"

"That's not Emily… it's the other one!" Reid whispered. His hands were tugging on the blanket and one tear ran down the corner of his face.

"If you can't be in here without upsetting my patient then I want you to leave." The doctor ordered. She went to Reid's side, and threw an angry glare over her shoulder at Emily.

"I didn't mean to…" Emily started to say before turning and running from the room.

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JJ found Emily in the family waiting room with a magazine in her hands. It was upside down and she was staring at it with red and swollen eyes.

"Hotch sent me to find you." JJ said kindly, taking the chair next to her friend.

"Ok… I - Is everything ok?" She stared at the pages, their black and white print blurring in front of her eyes.

"They sedated him. The doctor said it's possible that he doesn't remember the minutes leading up to his shooting." JJ put a hand on Emily's shoulder. "He's confused and scared. He'll get over it."

"I should leave. I don't want to upset him anymore." She laid the magazine on the chair and shrugged off JJ's restraining hand.

"Emily… it's not personal. Please don't leave!"

"He doesn't want me there. He's terrified! You weren't there, you didn't see the look on his face." Emily shouted. "I'm going back to the hotel."

She left JJ sitting in the waiting room, wondering how everything got so messed up.

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Garcia left the gift shop just as it was closing that same night. She'd snagged the last floral arrangement they had. It was a woven basket with white and yellow daisies. There were pink carnations and babies breathe artfully arranged as well. In her free hand she held a bunch of silver balloons with "get well," printed on them. One of the balloons was tied around a tiny white stuffed bear. She hauled all of this onto the elevator up to the fifth floor and down the hall to Reid's hospital room.

Morgan and JJ were talking to him when she entered the room. Morgan rolled his eyes at her gifts. "Mama… what are you trying to do, move the entire gift shop up here."

"Shut up handsome and help me arrange this stuff."

Morgan winked at her and when the gifts were arranged to her satisfaction, she pounced on Reid. "Ow…" He groaned when she hugged him hard,

"Sorry sweet cheeks." She said with real remorse.

"It's okay. You just caught me off guard, that's all." His voice was stronger and not as raspy. He was allowed water and some cherry Jell-o for supper. The tray was on the table across the room from his bed where JJ had placed it some minutes before Garcia returned with her gifts.

"Well…you're looking pale." Garcia clucked her tongue.

"Of course he is baby girl. He was in a coma for three days." Morgan told her.

"I know that handsome. Did the doctors say anything new?"

"I have to stay here for another three days." Reid said, beginning to pout.

"Don't knock it my man. There are some fine looking nurses on this floor." Morgan tried to cheer him up.

Reid didn't acknowledge Morgan's teasing and JJ looked at the older agent. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at the door.

"Baby girl, you want genius sitting duty while JJ and I grab a bite?" Morgan asked.

"Sure thing gorgeous," She settled into the chair Emily had been sitting in earlier, and grinned at Reid. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"Nothing… I just want everyone to leave me alone."

"Well get used to it sweetheart… we're not leaving." Garcia sat back in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest.

Reid didn't talk to her for exactly nine minutes. Garcia picked up a magazine someone had left on the table next to the phone. She thumbed through it cheerily, while he glared at her.

"Alright… I give up!" He asked after heaving out a big sigh and rolling his eyes at her.

"Took you long enough," Garcia said. "Now… Tell me what's making you frown baby cakes."

"Oh I don't know… maybe it's the fact that I'm stuck in this hospital room for the next three days. It could be that an evil genius got too cute with his chemistry set and here I am. Or it could be that he made a duplicate of Emily and she tried to seduce me and then kill the real Emily. Or that I don't remember everything that happened in that lab. No… there's nothing bothering me!"

"Reid… I'm sorry you went though that, but there is a bright side."

He glared at her and she wanted to laugh. There was no way anyone would be intimidated by that face. "You think there's a bright side, don't you? Why don't you enlighten me?" He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the far wall.

"You don't have to worry about your mom's disease anymore."

"Yeah… she's not my mom anymore. Is she," He said as tears began to glimmer in his eyes?

"Spencer Reid… You listen to me. She may not have biological ties to you, but she's still your mom."

Reid began to cry and Garcia moved to carefully put her arm around his thin shoulders. "It's going to be okay sweet cheeks."

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Emily pulled the dark blue sweater she wore over her head and dropped it on the floor. The dark beige carpet was soft under her feet, but it didn't matter. She could be walking on hot coals for all she noticed. Her new jeans were on the floor next to her black shoes. Her bra and panties hit the floor next. She dug out a red tee shirt and blue pajama bottoms. There was a book she'd bought the week before this had erupted in their faces and now was the chance to read it.

Three hours later she was still on page ten. Her stomach was rumbling, but she ignored it in favor of the television. It was amazing how there could be hundreds of channels on cable and absolutely nothing on television.

She pushed her bangs out of her eyes and threw the paperback against the wall. The red patterned wall paper clashed with the carpet. The gold bed spread had large purple and white flowers all over it. There was a table in the corner of the room and a desk along the far wall. There was some stationary in the desk. Maybe if she wrote a letter to her mother, she could get her mind off Reid and the mess she'd made.

The paper had "Sleep Inn" on the top of the light blue paper in gold letters. The address to the hotel was written right below the name. She picked up the pen she'd removed from her bag and pulled a couple sheets of paper towards her.

Dear Mother,

I'm in Utah on a case.

_No that wasn't right._

Dear Mom,

The team is in Utah. We had to come here to find Reid. He's okay. I just wanted you to know that I wouldn't be able to attend the party for

_Oh God… this sounded like a letter to a business acquaintance. _

She balled up the paper and threw it into the waste paper basket next to the desk. Her head went down on the desk and for the third time that night she began to sob.

She didn't know how long she's stayed they like that, but the ringing of her phone finally got through the haze of tears and fear that had been clouded her mind ever since Reid had had accused her of being that thing.

The caller id wasn't familiar. It was probably her mother calling from some party or dinner at a friends home, annoyed that Emily hadn't contacted her in days.

"Hi mom, sorry I haven't called you." She said in a low monotone voice.

"_Emily… is that you." _

Her heart leapt into her throat at the weak sound of his voice.

"Reid… Why are you… ah… what do you…"

"_Hey I'm the one that's supposed to stutter you know."_

"Oh right… I'm sorry for this after noon I don't -"

"_It's okay Emily. Hotch told me what happened, what I did in the lab. I just wish I could remember pulling the trigger. I know the clone is dead, but it's so weird that she had your face. In a way, I guess I killed you, sorry about that! _

"No offence taken. I'm glad you did what you had to do. I'm glad she's gone forever!"

There was silence, then muffled scuffling, and voices and she was about to ask him what was going on when Garcia came on the line.

"_Stop flirting and get your butt down here angel face. My Reid wants to see you." _

"_Garcia…"_

Emily could hear Reid protesting, but there was something else in his voice that made her start collecting her clothes from the floor.

"Hey you two…" She yelled into the phone.

"_You don't have to yell," _

"Yes I do Garcia. Tell him I'm on my way."

She hung up the phone and began to redress.


	14. Confessions and a Promise

_A/n hey everyone. Here's the last chapter. I want to thank all by faithful readers and my woderful beta for your support of this story. _

_Disclaimer: Do I have to say it people?_

_**Confessions and a Promise **_

The entrance doors at the hospital whooshed open in front of Emily. The breeze pushed her hair back for a moment before it fell back around her face. There was a new girl sitting behind the reception desk. She smiled at Emily. She was blond, blue-eyed and looked about twenty-one. Emily had the irrational urge to choke that welcoming smile off her heart shaped face. No one should be this cheerful at eight thirty in the evening.

She rounded the corner the headed down the corridor past the closed gift shop to the elevators. It seemed like an eternity passed before the arrow lit up over the big silver doors and they slid open to let her on the car. The ride to the fifth floor was over faster than she wanted. Her heart had begun to race the minute she'd walked into the hospital and now she was feeling a little dizzy. Her eyes still felt dry and gritty from all the crying she'd done in her hotel room.

She stood looking at the sign that pointed the way to the ladies' room, and after a long minutes thinking turned left and pushed open the door. She shouldn't have come back here. Reid was very confused. Yeah… he'd sounded better on the phone, but what if that was just Garcia's influence. She was the only one that could get through to him when he was really upset.

The eyes that looked back at her were still blood shot in spite of the drops she's put in them and the makeup she put on to disguise the red puffy look. Who was she kidding? There was no way she was going in there and making a declaration of love like everyone including Garcia expected her to do. She paced up and down in front of the mirror ignoring a small white haired woman that came into the bathroom. She was still staring at her reflection when the old woman came out of the stall. She walked with a cane and her back was hunched and her face was so lined she resembled one of those little dogs with the wrinkled faces.

"Rough night," The little lady asked while washing her swollen and age spotted hands. A gold wedding band glinted on one hand.

"Hm… oh yeah." Emily said, still staring at her own haunted eyes.

"I don't blame you my dear hospitals aren't one's choice of a fun evening." The woman said, pulling towels from the dispenser. Something in her voice made Emily look more closely at her.

"Is he okay?" The woman asked rubbing her hands in a way that spoke of constant and great pain.

"What…" Emily asked a little more harshly than she meant to, but the woman took no offence.

"Your young man… is he very ill." The old woman asked her after carefully tossing away the towels in the waste paper container.

"He's not my young man. He's a co worker that was shot. I'm FBI." She said inanely.

"Oh… how exciting! I hope he'll be okay my dear."

A lump rose in Emily's throat despite the strength she'd heard in Spencer's voice when they'd spoken on the phone.

"I'm sorry honey. I didn't mean to upset you." She faced Emily and looked right up into the taller woman's face. "Does he know you love him?"

Emily decided that denying it would be useless at this point. She shook her head and the old woman took one of her hands. "You must tell him. Don't lose any precious time. You never know when your time on this earth is done."

A tear escaped the eye of the old woman. She let go of Emily's hand and fingered her wedding band. "I'm sorry ma'am. Is your husband very ill?"

The old woman jolted in surprise and then smiled up at the younger woman, it was a sorrowful smile that made Emily want to cry again. "He has bone cancer. He doesn't have many days left."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know…"

"It's not your fault my dear. It's hard to say good bye to someone you've lived with for fifty years. I almost didn't marry him. I was stubborn and prideful when I was a young woman. Now looking back, I can't imagine what all these years would be like without him." She patted Emily's hand and slowly turned to leave.

"Thank you…" Emily called out to her.

"Good luck honey." The old woman actually winked at her and then she was gone.

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"Stop fussing…" Garcia slapped Reid's hand from where it was tugging at the hospital Johnnie. Garcia had raised his bed to a sitting position, and he was tugging at the blankets, or at his hair and driving her crazy.

"Leave me alone Garcia."

"Not in this lifetime," She retorted rearranging the flowers on the table for the hundredth time that night.

"Where is she? What's taking so long? She changed her mind." He babbled.

"Sweet cheeks… I love you, but if you don't shut up, I'm going to smack you silly. She'll be here soon."

"This was a bad idea. I can still call her." Reid reached for his phone, but Garcia was faster and she yanked it out of his reach.

"Damn it Garcia."

"Shut up and listen sweet pea. You made the call, now you have to live with it."

"You talked me into it. I just got out of a coma and I'm not thinking straight. Do you know that sixty seven percent of coma victims have cognitive and decision making problems after waking up and that -"

Garcia put a hand over his mouth. "I don't care gorgeous. Your big, beautiful, genius intellect is perfectly intact. It's not brain damage that made you call her. Don't let your stupid gene take control of your heart."

"Hey Garcia…. Hey Reid… am I interrupting something." Emily's voice came from the doorway.

"Of course not. Come in." Garcia said brightly. "I'll just leave you too alone." She winked at Emily and then planted a kiss on the top of Reid's head.

Reid glared at her and she laughed merrily. "Now I'm going to go find that stud muffin of mine and take care of his bruised, but hot body." She informed them. Reid flushed red and Emily rolled her eyes.

"Sorry about that, she's incorrigible." Reid said unnecessarily.

Emily perched on the chair next to his bed and stared out the window while Reid looked anywhere but right at her. "You don't have to stay." Reid said suddenly.

"What…" She jerked her eyes to his face in surprise.

"She's gone. You don't have to stay. She's off our back for the moment and I know that you -"

"Damn it Reid… shut up will you."

Her tone shocked him into silence. Her dark eyes were blazing and there were red spots on her cheeks. She looked highly pissed off.

"If you don't want me here because I look like her, just say so and I'll leave."

"No… that's not it. Hotch explained to me what happened, all of it. I'm sorry if I upset you. I want you to stay. Please stay if you want." He was fidgeting with the edge of the blanket and not looking at her. "I know you're not her and I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings earlier. I was so confused and scared, but I know now you're not her."

The color had left her face but she still looked like she thought being there was a bad idea and he thought she might leave. "I know you're not her, no one else gets that pissed off at me. You remember when we were talking to that woman in the shelter, and I couldn't keep my mouth shut and scared her. You took me aside and let me have it for being a jackass. No one ever did that for me before that one minute. It's why I started liking you in the first place." His face was crimson now.

The nervous trembling in her hands stopped, but her heart was still beating fast enough to dump her off her feet if she hadn't been sitting down.

"Reid you don't have to -"

"Emily please just let me talk." She sat back and listened to him tell her about the Dr. Black and his clone and the room he'd made up just like the one in his apartment. He told her everything about the clone's attempt to seduce him, every thought, and feeling, and sensation. He told her the reason why he pushed the clone away. He was whispering and shaking with a sheet white face when the tale was over.

"Reid… I don't know what to say. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner that I really like you, and I want to explore this and see where it goes."

His head whipped up so fast, she thought he'd given himself whiplash. "You're not just saying that because I'm in here and you feel sorry for me."

"Spencer Reid, you're an idiot in a lot of ways, you know that."

"Yeah… I guess I do. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing! Promise me that you and I will go out and do something fun and frivolous once you get out of here."

"Okay… that sounds good."

They shook hands to seal their bargain. Reid began to tell her in more detail about his time in the castle. He still didn't remember the minutes before the shooting, but the team had filled him in on everything but Morgan's shooting. The doctor insisted to Hotch that he remember that on his own. He knew they'd kept something from him, but pushing Emily didn't get him anywhere.

"Come on Emily. You can convince the doctor to let Hotch tell me the rest." He pleaded with puppy dog eyes that made her heart stutter.

"Nope… looking at me like that won't work Spencer. The doctor was very upset that Hotch told you about killing the clone. She wants you to remember the rest on your own."

The nurse kicked her out a few minutes later and she promised to come back in the morning. She left the room feeling ten years younger. She wanted to go find that little old lady and thank her.

JJ was waiting at the gift shop when she came out of the elevator and she began to pump Emily about her conversation with Reid.

"Back off JJ… you're worse than Garcia."

"Don't lump me in with her. She's in a class all by herself." JJ observed as they walked down the hall to the exit.

"That's true. How about we pick up a bunch of junk food, and see if there's anything to watch on the movie channel."

"I think that's a very good idea and then I want details."

"You're incorrigible."

"I know, that's why you all love me." JJ declared.

"Very cute Agent Jareau."

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The day had finally come for Spencer to leave the hospital. Emily was sitting in the easy chair when Morgan and Garcia entered the room.

"How's my sweet boy." Garcia exclaimed, giving him a rib cracking hug. He was wearing his usual dark brown cords, white dress shirt and sweater vest. His luggage had been retrieved by UHP from his rental truck and the truck returned to the lot.

"I'm fine Garcia. I just want to get out of here. I hate hospitals." He frowned.

"You can stop complaining Dr. Reid. You're officially out of here." His doctor entered the room and gave him a smile. "I have some last paperwork for you and some prescriptions for pain and some antibiotics."

"I can't take narcotics." Reid began.

"Your boss told me that, so don't worry." She gave him the papers. "Good luck to you." She said and left the room.

"More paperwork. I hate it!" He complained while the rest of them laughed.

"Don't worry my man. You won't have to do anymore paperwork for awhile."

"Yeah… I just have to go stay in a clinic and get my brain picked over." He slumped back on the bed and his frown deepened.

"It's going to be ok…" Emily said, pushing his hair back from his face.

"I want to go see my mom before I have to go there. She needs to know what happened to Dad. She probably won't understand, but I have to tell her."

"You can't go to Nevada." Hotch said from the doorway.

"But Hotch I just -"

Hotch came into the room and stepped up to the young man on the hospital bed. "I know you want to go see her, but you can't travel alone and even if you could, I can't let you go."

"Hotch I have to tell her that my dad is dead. She deserves to know!" Reid's voice was rising and his pale face was going red.

"I know, but you still have things in your mind that we have to deal with. If you go I want Emily to go with you."

Emily began to protest and Hotch cut her off. "I want you to escort Reid to Las Vegas and Bennington, and then back to the clinic in Virginia. He's expected in three days. Is that understood Agent Prentiss." He commanded.

"Yes sir I -"

Hotch gave Reid's good shoulder a squeeze and a pat. "I'll see you soon." He told the younger man and then left the room, only letting a smile cross his face when he was out of their sight.

"Well I guess Emily's your body guard. Don't take that too literally." Morgan teased.

"Watch it or I'll kick your sorry ass." Emily shot back.

Garcia giggled and Morgan growled. "What's so funny baby girl?"

"I was just wondering if I can watch said ass kicking," she said innocently.

"You two are a barrel of laughs." Morgan groused.

"What's so funny?" JJ asked as she breezed into the room.

"Nothing… Can I please get out of here now." Reid said as the others laughed.

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The sun was out and the temperature was a comfortable seventy degrees when Emily and Reid pulled up in their dark blue rental car. The parking lot at Bennington Sanitarium was about one quarter full. It was Wednesday and the middle of the day, so Reid didn't think there would be many visitors there.

"They said she was having a good day when I called." He told Emily for the fifth time, but she didn't comment. His hands were shaking, and his voice had been squeaking the whole way over to the sanitarium.

It was a large red brick structure all square and clean lines. There was nothing very fancy in the architecture, which is why Reid had chosen it.

They walked up to the doors and though them to the sign in desk. "Hi Dr. Reid."

Emily turned to see a very tall woman with salt and pepper hair pulled back in a fussy bun on her head. She was plump with a round and kind face. Her eyes were as grey as the sky before a storm, but they were gentle.

"Hello Dr. Barrett. This is SSA Emily Prentiss, we work together. Ah - she's my friend." His face was going red again and Dr. Barrett's eyebrows rose into her bangs. The young man had never brought a woman with him before, this should be interesting!

"It's nice to meet you Agent Prentiss." She shook hands with the younger woman, and noticed the way she was looking at young Dr. Reid.

"Some of the patients are taking advantage of the warm weather on the lawn. Your mother is out there too. She's writing in her journal." Dr. Barrett explained, leading them through the first floor to the outside back lawn.

Reid saw his mother sitting at a small table a few yards away, writing busily in a book. He swallowed hard and began to sweat. What was he going to say to her? Dr. Barrett said goodbye and he fidgeted a bit more before taking a step toward his mother. A hand slipped into his and held it tight. He looked over and Emily was smiling at him.

The grass was still green and smelled like it had been recently cut. There were roses of all colors bordering the brick walls that enclosed the back yard of the sanitarium. There were several other patients sitting in the sunshine. Some were talking to visitors and some were alone. His heart smote him to think how many times the other patients had visitors and his mother never saw him.

"It's okay." Emily said quietly to his left and squeezed his hand again.

Diana Reid didn't look up when Spencer spoke to her. "Hi mom."

He watched her write for a moment and then she put the pen down and looked up blankly at them. "Mom… it's me. It's Spencer. This is my friend Emily Prentiss.

"I'm honored to meet you." Emily said kindly.

"Mom I have something to tell you."

"Are you here for the lecture?" Diana asked.

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"Thanks for sitting through that." Reid said nervously.

"Are you kidding. Tristan and Isolde were my favorite in college. It wasn't boring, you're mom is great."

They pulled into parking lot at the hotel they were staying in. He got out of the car and went around to open the door for her.

"She didn't understand what I told her though." He said, his face resembling a small child that had lost his favorite toy.

"I think she did on some level. Maybe it's better that she doesn't understand the importance of your news."

He walked her down the hall to her room and they stopped in front of her door. "You want a drink inside?" She asked tentatively.

"No… I just want to get some sleep. I'm tired."

"Oh… I'll see you in the morning."

He slipped the hand she'd been holding out of her grasp and turned to walk away. "Hey Spencer!" She called after him.

"Yeah…"

"I love you…" She blurted out.

His face went red and his jaw began to tremble. "Hey… what's wrong?" She went to him and hugged him tight.

"I don't remember the last time someone said that to me." He said as tears began to flow.

"That's too bad, because I really mean it."

"I love you too Emily." He said shyly, getting lost in the smell of her perfume. She always smelled like lilacs and vanilla.

"Look… I better go. We have to go back tomorrow." He said quietly.

"Okay…" She kissed him on the cheek and went into her room.

He stood there staring at her door with his hand on his cheek for a long time.

"Hey buddy, you going to stand there all day." an annoyed voice came from behind him. He turned to see a blond haired man with watery blue eyes glaring at him.

"Yeah… I think I will." Spencer said dreamily, ignoring the man's huff and a few choice words he flung at Spencer. The man veered around him, muttering darkly till he got to his room, opened the door and then slammed it behind him.

Spencer shrugged his shoulders at the man's impatience and went back to his room. All of the sudden he felt new, like his life was just starting. Even if he had to spend the next couple of months with psychologists poking around in his head, it didn't matter. Emily loved him! Not some evil clone, but the real thing and that was all that mattered to him!

The End.


End file.
